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CORfRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

AND 
REMINISCENCES 



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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

AND 

REMINISCENCES 



BY 

DAVID P. DYER 




THE WILLIAM HARVEY MINER COMPANY, INC. 

SAINT LOUIS 

1922 






Copyright, 1922 by 
DAVID P. DYEE 



All rights reserved 
Published June, 1922 



PRINTED IN U. S. A. FOR 

THE WILLIAM HAUVEY MINER CO., INC. 

BY THE TORCH PRESS 

CEDAR RAPIDS 

IOWA 



.Afi777B2 






'O 



DEDICATION 

IN MEMOEY OF MY WIFE, WHO FOR MORE THAN FIFTY- 
FIVE YEARS WAS MY LOVING AND FAITHFUL COMPANION, 
THESE REMINISCENCES ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 

David P. Dyer 



FOREWORD 

At the age of eigiity-four years, there is little left 
for one to do except to "take an account of stock," — 
review the labor, incidents, failures, successes, joys 
and sorrows of a long life, — "balance the books" and 
then cahnly count, as they pass, the few remaining 
days allowed hiin by a gracious Providence, observ- 
ing the shadows as they lengthen and serenely specu- 
late upon the beauties and glories of the future world 
as they may appear to him at the final sunset of life. 

It has been suggested to me by friends that it might 
be of interest to others, especially to my children and 
their descendants, to have in writing some of the in- 
cidents, occurrences, struggles, successes, failures 
and disappointments that in a measure mark the 
pathway of my long life. In addition to all of these, 
the fact of employment as I wait for the summons 
that sooner or later must come, appeals very strongly 
to me, as does the further thought that I may be re- 
cording some things of interest as they relate to others 
whom it has been my pleasure to know. Most of the 
persons of whom I shall speak have long since passed 
to the great beyond. The object, therefore, of this 
effort on my part is to record a brief autobiography 
of myself for the benefit of my children and their 
descendants, and a succinct account of men that I 
have known and measures that have come to my atten- 
tion, with such observations as may possibly be of in- 



12 Foreivord 



terest to those who honor me by reading these pages. 
Much of what follows pertains to ofl&cial positions 
held by me and the successes or failures that accom- 
panied them. The cases mentioned are of a public 
character and reference thereto may serve some good 
purpose. 

David P. Dyer 
St. Louis 
February 12, 1922 



CONTENTS 

I. Earliest Recollections ... 19 

II. Boyhood in Lincoln County . . 32 

III. Education 44 

IV. Study of the Law .... 55 
V. 1858-1860 68 

VI. The Volcano Rumbles ... 86 

VII. The Eruption and After . . . 104 
VIII. State and National Affairs . . 124 
IX. State and National Affairs (Continued) 

138 
151 
171 
189 
203 
221 



X. The Whiskey ''Ring" 
XL Later Years 
XII. California and the West 

XIII. Oklahoma, 1901 . 

XIV. Theodore Roosevelt . 
XV. Theodore Roosevelt (Continued) . 255 

XVI. Golden Wedding Anniversary . . 287 
XVII. Octogenarian 293 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

David P. Dyer .... Frontispiece 
The Fiest Home, 1860 81 

PORTEAIT OF MrS. DyER 286 

The Dyer Famh^y 289 

The Loving Cup 322 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

AND 
EEMINISCENCES 



EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS 

Early Ancestry — Dyer Genealogy — George Dyer, 
Revolutionary Soldier — David Dalton Dyer and the 
War of 1812 — Life in Virginia — By Wagon Trail 
to Missouri — Clearing the Wilderness — Family 
Bereavement. 

The Dyer family is of English-Scotch origin and 
first emigrated to this country in the seventeenth 
century. 

I have no authentic record of my particular branch 
of the family prior to that of James Dyer, my great- 
grandfather, who was born in 1720, neither have I 
any positive information regarding any of his chil- 
dren other than his son George who was my grand- 
father and who was born in Prince George County, 
Maryland, in 1753 and died in Henry County, Vir- 
ginia, in 1827. 

He was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, serv- 
ing as a Lieutenant in the company of Captain 
Charles Williamson, Prince George County, Mary- 
land, June 15th, 1778. — Authority : 18th Volume, 
Folio 328, Archives of Maryland, published by the 
Maryland Historical Society. 

He married Rachael Dalton, by whom he had nine 
children — six boys and three girls — and the descen- 



20 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

dants of these children are scattered over many 
States. 

In the following data I give years of birth, 
marriage and death where these have been ascertained 
and have followed only the male line, not covering 
the collateral branches. 

DESCENDANTS OF GEORGE AND RACHAEL 
DALTON DYER 

1 — James — Married Sarah Rejniolds. Their chil- 

dren — Coleman, Joseph, Fountain, James, 
Benjamin, Hugh, Elizabeth, Ann, Mary, 
Greif, George. 

2 — Benjamin —1778-1823. Married in 1801 to Mary 

Gravely. Their children — George, Elea- 
nor, Joseph, Rachael, James, Jabez, Sac- 
ville, Benjamin. 

3 — Frances — Married Edward DeLazier. 

4 — Phoebe — 1782-1871. Married Arnold Thomas- 

son. 

5 — Joel — Married Mary Sahnon. Their children 

— Nanc}^, Marj^ Sallie, Martha, Susan, 
Joseph, George, Benjamin, Fanny, Rachael. 

6 — David Dalton -^ 1791-1844. Married in 1810 to 

Nancy Reynolds Salmon. Their children 

— George W., Joseph F., Martha C, John 
S., Sarah A., James C, Nancy J., Elizabeth 
H., Mary B., Louisa B., Rachael M., 
David P. 

7 — Martha — 1797-1876. Married in 1822 to Lewis 

Gravely. 

8 — Joab — 1801-1875. Married Mary Salmon in 



Earliest Recollections 21 



1824, and Nancy Harvy in 1836. Children 
by first wife— Margaret, Ann, Rebecca, 
Rachael. 

Children by second wife — George V., and 
Elizabeth C. 
9 — Jefferson — 1803-1848. Married first a Miss 
Sahnon. Afterwards Elizabeth Custer in 
1829. 

First wife — one daughter — Mavj. 
Second wife — Matilda, George L., Malinda, 
Minnie, David L., Zanie, Virginia, Missouri. 

DESCENDANTS OF DAVID DALTON AND 
NANCY REYNOLDS SALMON DYER 

George W.— 1811-1862. Married in 1833 to Mary 
Philpot. Their children — Martha, Nancy, 
David, Sinai, Msny, Virginia, Fredonia, 
Trusten, Minnie. 

Joseph F. — 1813-1861. Married in 1833 to Eliza- 
beth Dyer. Their children — David, Mary, 
Sarah, Martha, Joseph, Harriet, Nancy, 
James. 

Mary B.— 1814-1889. Married in 1833 to Bailey 
Martin. 

Martha C. — 1817-1885. Married in 1835 to Nathan- 
ial Spencer. 

John S.— 1819-1880. Married in 1839 to Martha 
Bassett. Their children — Mary, Nancy, 
David A., James, George, Cherokee, Choc- 
taw, Pocahontas, Luella, Cora, Ida, Eloise. 

Sarah A. — 1822-1898. Married in 1841 to Albert 
Mason. 



22 Autohiography and Beminiscences 

James C — 1824-1897. Married in 1849 to Martha 
Camp. Their children — David A., George 
C, Joseph W., John H., Leonidas C, Mary, 
Nancy, Anne, Virginia, Emma. 

Nancy J. — 1827-1915. Married in 1845 to Douglas 
Wyatt. 

Elizabeth H. — 1829-1913. Married in 1850 to John 
E. Ball. 

Louisa B. — 1833-1903. Married in 1854 to W. L. 
Carter. 
Married in 1882 to J. E. Carstarphen. 

Eachael M. — 1834-1920. Married in 1853 to Dr. J. 
M. Foreman. 

David P. — 1838. Married in 1860 to Lizzie C. 

Hunt. Their children — Ezra Hunt, Emma 

Grace, Lizzie Logan, David P., Horace Levi, 

Maria Louise. 

The twelve children of my parents were born in 

Henry County, Virginia. 
All of my children were bom in Louisiana, Pike 

County, Missouri, with the exception of Louise, who 

was born in St. Louis, and at the present time all are 

living. 

Ezra Hunt — Married Julia F. Gregg, daughter of 
of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. H. Gregg of St. Louis. 
After her death he married Lelia B. Laren- 
don, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. AVashing- 
ton Larendon of New York City. Of the 
first marriage there was born one child — 
Orian Elizabeth, who married Clarke S. 
Smith, now Colonel of Engineers, U. S. 
Army. They have three daughters, Orian 
Elizabeth, Julia Frances and Lucy Clarke. 



Earliest Recollections 23 



Emma Grace — Married Edgar White Hunting of 
Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have three 
sons— David Dyer, Robert Cutler and 
Edgar Hunt. The second son, Robert, mar- 
ried Elinor Sawtelle of Memphis, Tenn., and 
they have one son, Robert Cutler, Jr. 
Lizzie Logan — Has not married. 
David Patterson, Jr. — Married Maud Ensign, 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Ensign' 
then living in New Orleans, Louisiana. They 
have one daughter, Louise Ensign, who 
married Dr. Henry Ford Haskins, now of 
Peoria, 111. 

Horace Levi — Married Elizabeth Edgar, daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. Selwyn C. Edgar, of St. 
Louis. After her death he married Betsey 
E. Wilcox, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Byron 
Wilcox of Pahnyra, N. Y. By this second 
marriage are two sons— David Wilcox and 
John Cogswell. 

Maria Louise— Married Amos F. Fay, Jr., of St. 

Louis. They have one daughter, Claudine. 

So it will be seen that at the time of this writing I 

have six children, eight grandchildren and four 

great-grandchildren. None have died. 

My grandfather on my mother's side (John Sal- 
mon), was of Irish descent, and also served in the 
Revolutionary War. My father, David Dalton Dyer, 
and my mother, Nancy Reynolds Sahnon, were born 
in Henry County, Virginia, in the years 1791 and 
1794, respectively. Each of them was of humble 
birth and their parents were poor so far as the world's 



24 Autohlograp liy and Reminiscences 

goods were concerned. They were married in 1810 
— my father at that time being nineteen years of age 
and my mother sixteen. They could not boast (as 
most Virginians do) of kinship with either Washing- 
ton, Jefferson, Marshall or Lee. Without dis- 
tinguished ancestry and without property of very 
great value, they had to rely upon their native talents 
and strong arms for a living. They had an abiding 
faith in each other and w^ere splendidly equipped with 
energy, industry, health, and courage for the hard 
battle that lay before them. They had at the begin- 
ning only that superficial knowledge of books that 
was vouchsafed to the poor. This limited learning 
was added to during the long winter evenings by dili- 
gent study and research in such additional books as 
could be found in the neighborhood and the light by 
which they read came mostly from ''pine knots" 
burned in the fireplace of a log house in which they 
lived. They courageously and hopefully tilled the 
soil of Henry County for a living where they were 
renters and not the owners of the land. 

This continued until the ''call to arms" was sound- 
ed for the war of 1812. The husband promptly 
answered and enlisted in a Virginia regiment. The 
wife with one young child remained at home to carry 
on the fight for a living until the husband and father 
should return after the battles were won and peace 
declared. Victory and peace came, and the soldier 
returned; the thread was again taken up and the 
struggle as before continued. As they were reason- 
ably successful in the acquisition of property, in a 
few years they were made comfortable and with in- 
creased learning and knowledge the husband became 



Earliest RecoUections 25 

an influential and much respected citizen in the com- 
munity in which they lived. For twelve consecutive 
years he was a representative in the legislature 
(House and Senate) of Henry and adjacent counties. 
He was a member of the Senate at the date of my 
birth, February 12, 1838, and my middle name, Pat- 
terson, was after a senator by that name w^ho was a 
colleague of my father. 

I was the youngest of twelve children, and when I 
married, on the 15th of November, 1860, all twelve 
were living. Today I am the only survivor. There 
were five brothers and seven sisters, and of these, 
George, Joseph, Mary, Martha, and John were 
married before I, the twelfth, was born. I have 
nieces and nephews older than myself which does not 
occur very often in a f amih^ 

The five eldest children of David and Nancy Dyer 
left Virginia in 1840 and came to Missouri and 
settled in the counties of Warren and St. Charles. 
They were all farmers. In 1841 my father and 
mother, with the seven remaining children and a few 
slaves, left the old home in Henry County, Virginia, 
and after six weeks of hardship on the way, came to 
Missouri. 

The means of transportation used by my father 
from Virginia to Missouri consisted of two large 
wagons (made by convicts in the Virginia Peni- 
tentiary in Richmond), each of which were drawn by 
four horses. In these two wagons were placed the 
household goods that had accimiulated in the Vir- 
ginia home. Everything being ready, the "whip was 
cracked" and the start was made for Missouri, a 
thousand miles and more away. For six long- weeks 



26 Autobiography atid Reminiscences 

they journeyed before the goal was reached. Over 
hills and through valleys, over mountains and across 
rivers, they traveled from Virginia through Tennes- 
see, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois, until the great 
Mississippi River was reached and crossed. 

The children (except the youngest) and the negroes 
* 'footed it" practically all of the way. At nightfall 
camps were made on the roadside, tents pitched, fires 
lighted, horses tethered, watered and fed, meals 
cooked on open fires, beds made in wagons and on the 
ground, prayers said, and beneath the twinkling stars 
sleep was eagerly sought by each and every one of 
the tired party composing that group of hopeful and 
joyous '' movers." A place was temporarily rented 
in the southern part of Warren County. This had 
a brick dwelling on it, the only building of its kind 
in the county. It was known far and wide as the 
''Brick House Place." 

The master, the leader, who had turned his back 
on the thin land of Henry County, Virginia, was look- 
ing, as most Virginians did, for "bottom land and liv- 
ing water." In this search he passed over the rich 
and fertile uplands of St. Louis and St. Charles 
counties and finally came to the bottom lands on Big 
Creek in Lincoln County. Here he found the place 
he was seeking. He bought of a man named Cham- 
bers, two hundred and sixty acres of bottom and hill 
land. The bottom land was rich and productive, but 
the hill land, while splendid with timber, was thin and 
poor. There were a few acres of cleared land in the 
bottom that had been cultivated by Chambers and 
a cabin in which he had lived, that was situated near 
the clearing and close by a well of "living water." 



Earliest Recollections 27 

Possession was taken and improvements began. In 
the bottom the gro^vth Avas large sycamore trees — on 
the hill big oaks with some hickories. The sycamores 
were felled, cut in pieces, rolled together and burned 
and the land made ready for cultivation. On the 
high land oak trees were felled, cut to the proper 
length, hewn on two sides and built into houses for a 
residence and other purposes on a high hill that over- 
looked the bottoms. The residence was composed of 
four large rooms and was two stories in height. A 
stone chimney was built between the four rooms (two 
below and two above) with a fireplace in each. The 
roof was made of boards cut and split by hand and the 
interstices or cracks between the logs were filled by a 
mortar composed of earth, straw and lime. In 
addition to this most pretentious dwelling, other 
buildings were erected in close proximity, — houses 
for the negroes to live in, smoke house, kitchen, etc., 
etc. Everything seemed to be moving along happily 
and well; clearings were made, stables and fences 
built and unprovements of a substantial character 
were to be seen on all sides; prosperity apparent 
everywhere. But, alas, after three years of unremit- 
ting toil and the endurance of hardships only known 
to the pioneer, there came the great flood of 1844, a 
flood of a magnitude hitherto unknown and which 
has never been equalled since. The creek (Big Creek) 
was not only big in name but big in fact. Practically 
all of the improvements made on the bottom lands 
were swept away, together with the ungathered and 
ungarnered crops. 

This unfortunate disaster left the owner, the 
courageous master, practically where he began three 



28 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

years before. In time this could have been righted 
by hard work, but there was a greater misfortune to 
follow — a misfortune that could not be remedied. 
The waters of the great flood receded, but over the 
land that had been deluged there lurked the insidious, 
treacherous and deadly malaria. This hideous 
monster got within its coils both the master and the 
mistress — caught the devoted husband, the just and 
patient father, the considerate master, and the loving- 
wife and mother. After weeks of pain and struggle, 
the master closed his eyes in death on the 8th of 
October, 1844. He was buried on the hill near the 
house he had built, and there for more than three 
quarters of a century his ashes have reposed. The 
wife and mother, after a long illness, finally recovered 
her health. The departure of the husband left the 
burden of family govermnent, the new and strange 
home, the care of children, their support and educa- 
tion upon her who had been to him sweetheart and 
wife. This heavy burden she took and carried dur- 
ing a widowhood of forty-six years, with a courage 
and loving fidelity that justly entitled her to be 
crowned a ''Spartan mother." 

During the years of her widow^hood she directed 
the work of the farm, provided for the comfort and 
education of her children as best she could with the 
meagre opportunity that the neighborhood furnished. 
One by one they married and left the "mother-nest" 
for homes of their own. Finally in the autiunn of 
1857, the youngest of her children, the writer of these 
notes, went to Bowling Green, Pike County, Missouri, 
to study law in the office of Hon. James Overton 
Broadhead. She was left on the farm with an 



Earliest Recollections 29 



orplianed grandson and several slaves. Here she re- 
mained until after the Civil War when the slaves 
were made free, at which time she sold the farm and 
removed to Louisiana, Pike County, Missouri. She 
afterwards removed to Jonesburg, Montgomery- 
County. Here she died on the 1st day of February, 
1890, at the age of nearly ninety-six years. 

All of her life she was possessed of great physical 
and mental strength. Within a few hours of her de- 
parture she was in full possession of her faculties 
and within that time gave minute directions as to her 
funeral. The following was taken from the St. Louis 
Glohe-Democrat of February 2, 1890 : 

MRS. NANCY R. DYER 
(Special dispatch to the Glohe-Democrat) 

Jonesburg, Missouri, February 2, 1890. — 
At ten o'clock last night there died in this 
place a woman who had lived to a remark- 
able age — Mrs. Nancy R. Dyer, widow of 
Hon. David Dyer, formerly of Henry 
County, Virginia, at the age of 95 years, 8 
months and 4 days. She was the mother 
of twelve children — five sons and seven 
daughters — seven of whom survive her, viz : 
Capt. James C. Dyer, of Warrenton; Mrs. 
Sallie A. Mason, Mrs. Jane Wyatt, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Ball and Mrs. Matilda Foreman, 
of this vicinity ; Mrs. Louisa B. Carstarphen 
and Col. D. P. Dyer, of St. Louis. 

Mrs. Dyer came with her husband and 
children to Missouri in 1841, and settled near 
Troy, Lincoln County, Mo. Her husband 
died three years later, leaving a large family. 

She leaves surviving her seven children. 



30 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

sixty-four grandcliildren, 165 great-grand- 
children and six very great-grandcMldren, a 
total of 242 descendants living. She sur- 
vived five of her own children and thirty of 
her grandchildren. The total descendants 
living and dead of this aged woman are 277. 
Mrs. Dyer possessed a mind of extraordi- 
nary vigor, and up to the last moment of her 
existence she was in full possession of her 
faculties and gave the most minute direc- 
tions as to the disposition of her remains and 
the division of her effects. Her husband 
was a soldier in the war of 1812, and served 
subsequently with distinction in the House 
of Delegates and Senate of the State of Vir- 
ginia. Mrs. Dyer lived under the adminis- 
tration of every President of the United 
States from Washington to Benjamin 
Harrison, and her life has therefore been co- 
extensive with the establishment and growth 
of the United States. She will be buried on 
Tuesday next in the old family burying 
ground in Lincoln County. 

As above stated, she left surviving her children, 
grandchildren, great-grandchildren and very great- 
grandchildren to the number of two hundred and 
forty-two. Prior to her death, thirty-five of her des- 
cendants had died. The grand total of descendants 
living and dead numbered two hundred and seventy- 
seven. In all the years of her long life, she per- 
formed faithfully and well every duty imposed upon 
her. 

''The greatest lives are those to duty wed. 
Whose deeds both great and small are close- 
knit strands of unbroken thread 
Where love ennobles all." 



Earliest Recollections 31 

This is not intended as an eulogium of father and 
mother, but as a brief recital of facts bearing upon 
two lives that were most happily joined together. 
They were God-fearing and God-loving Christian 
people, and tried hard to "do imto others as they 
would have others do unto them." 

In early life each of them professed religion and be- 
came members of what was then and now known as 
"Primitive Baptists." They were consistent mem- 
bers of the church, and died in the faith. The old 
song so dear to them embodied in the refrain their be- 
lief and hope .... 

"And I shall see Him face to face, 
And tell the story saved by Grace !" 



II 

BOYHOOD IN LINCOLN COUNTY 

Farm Life in Missouri — First Impressions of 
Slavery — The Block — Religion on the Frontier — 
The Pioneer's ''Good Times" — Master and Slaves. 

I was but six years old at the time of my father's 
death, and consequently my recollections of him are 
very vague. My mother was very ill when he died, 
but recovered her health in a few weeks' time and 
assumed the duties and shouldered the burden that 
had fallen upon her. Remaining with her in this new 
but now desolate home, made so by the death of the 
master and the great disaster caused by the flood, 
were six children, James, Jane, Elizabeth, Louisa, 
Matilda, and myself. The six older children, namely, 
George, Joseph, Mar}% Martha, John, and Sarah, 
were married and in homes of their own. James and 
Jane did not remain long after the death of my 
father, but married and moved away. This left the 
four younger children, three sisters and myself, at 
the home with our mother. The neighborhood Avas 
sparsely settled, as said elsewhere, there being not a 
mile of railroad in the State, and the closest point to 
a navigable river, the Mississippi, was sixteen miles. 

There was one water-mill and one "horse-mill" in 
the neighborhood. The water-mill ran only two or 



Boyhood in Lincoln County 33 

three months in the year, and then only as the waters 
of Big Creek furnished the power. This mill would 
grind wheat and corn, but the flour made from the 
wheat was bolted by hand. The ''horse-mill" was 
located some six miles from our home and the power 
used at that was two horses attached to a sweep. The 
burden of taking the grain to the mills and bringing 
back the meal and flour, most generally fell upon me 
after I reached the age of twelve j^ears. 

The family consisted of mother and four children 
and seven or eight slaves. My father made a will in 
which he gave to each of his eleven older children one 
or two slaves and certain personal property. To my 
mother he gave the place and seven or eight negroes — 
one man, three women and two or three younger 
slaves. This property was to be hers during her life- 
tune and at her death to vest in me, the youngest 
child. 

On the farm were cultivated corn, wheat, and 
tobacco. Tobacco was the staple principally relied 
upon to furnish the means necessary to buy family 
supplies. However, in addition to the tobacco, some 
wheat, bacon, oats, poultry, butter and eggs were sent 
to market and sold. St. Louis, sixty miles away, was 
then, as it is now, the market for that section of the 
State. It took five days to make the trip, two in 
going, one day in St. Louis and two to return. After 
I reached fourteen years of age, the marketing for the 
succeeding four years fell upon me. Only two or 
three such trips were made in the year. In the win- 
ter I stood upon the streets in St. Louis and sold 
turkeys, geese, ducks, and chickens, and with the pro- 
ceeds of such sales bought sugar, coffee, molasses, 



34 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

salt, etc. On one occasion I made the trip without 
spending a single cent. The Missouri Eiver at St. 
Charles was frozen over and wagon and team crossed 
without difficulty. The feed for the horses was 
carried in the wagon, as were the meat, bread and 
coffee that I used. At night I slept in the wagon or 
on the ground, as the weather permitted. These de- 
tails are given for the purpose of showing the oppor- 
tunities of that day and this. Then fiYQ days, now 
less than five hours to make the trip ; then over heavy 
and unimproved roads, now in comfortable coaches. 

The most interesting and enjoyable meetings of 
neighbors were at '4og rollings," *'corn shuckings" 
and ^*hog killings.'' Here the neighbors joined to- 
gether to help each other. While the men were en- 
gaged in this work, the women were spinning or 
quilting, and when the day ended, a hearty and joyous 
gathering was held around the dinner table and fire- 
place. It is a question as to whether the people were 
not happier then than now. In the old time, friend- 
ships were stronger and more sincere. There was 
less selfishness and more of the milk of human kind- 
ness in the make-up of people than now. Families 
were strongly united, and it was a disgrace and re- 
proach to countenance divorce. Men and women 
married each other for love — now in many cases for 
money and position. These comments may be a little 
out of place here, but the facts as I knew them when 
a boy made a deep impression upon me, and I have 
tried through life to emulate the stern integrity and 
the unselfish friendship that characterized the people 
of the early days. 

The opportunities offered for obtaining an educa- 



Boyhood in Lincoln County 35 

tion, however, were the most meagre. It was 
while attending the country school that an incident 
occurred in the neighborhood that had much to do 
with forming my future political opinions. Slavery 
was a recognized institution in the State, and men, 
women, and children were treated as chattels and 
bought and sold at public and private sale. My 
mother had fallen heir to several by the terms of my 
father's will. Neither she nor my father ever sold 
one. Brought up as I was with the institution, I 
never questioned the right or the wrong of slavery 
until the incident of which I am about to speak, 
occurred. 

I saw a family sold in Troy when I was a boy, pro- 
bably ten or twelve years of age. It consisted of 
husband, wife, and three children. The sale was con- 
ducted by a little sharp-nosed man by the name of 
Joe Shelton. The father of the family was first 
placed upon the block and sold to a trader from the 
South. The wife and mother was then sold to a 
different person, as were the two daughters, aged 
about sixteen and fourteen, and the baby boy about 
five years old. When the baby was put up for sale 
to the highest bidder and the father held him in his 
arms while Shelton asked for bids, the tears coursed 
their way down the black face of the good and un- 
offending father as the auctioneer proceeded. This 
child, this baby, was sold awaj^ from the father and 
mother. I can still hear that tiny thing calling out, 
*'I want my maimny!" As I stood there and wit- 
nessed the wreck of this family, I for the first time 
understood and appreciated the iniquity of the in- 
stitution. I went home that night and told my 



36 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

mother what I had seen. I said to her that a just 
God would not countenance such a wrong — that the 
preaching of Mr. Wright and others that slavery was 
right and that it was a divine institution, could not be 
true, and as for me, if the time ever came when by- 
word or act I could aid in striking a blow that would 
end it, the blow would be struck. I thank God that 
I kept the promise. 

This was but one of the harrowing incidents of this 
accursed institution. 

The country in and about the place my father 
bought was sparsely settled. The pioneers came 
mostly from Virginia and Kentucky, with now and 
then a family from a State farther south. In politics 
they were mostly Democrats, and in religion Primi- 
tive Baptists. Thomas Jefferson Wright (himself a 
Kentuckian) was the elder in charge of a congrega- 
tion that met for worship two or three times each 
month in a log house then known as Sandrun Church. 
My father and mother were both members of this 
church and so continued up to the time they died. 

Elder Wright officiated at the funeral of my father 
in October, 1844. He was a Southerner by birth, and 
his convictions on any subject were strong and 
generally expressed with great vigor. He believed 
in the institution of slavery, not only from a legal 
but from a religious and moral standpoint. He 
would preach sermon after sermon upon the subject 
and seek to prove by the Bible the correctness of his 
position. The right to own slaves and the doctrine 
of baptism by immersion were the two principal 
things that he sought to establish by the Bible. He 
(representing his church) was opposed to missions, 



Boyhood in Lincoln County 37 

temperance and secret societies of all kinds, and Sun- 
day schools. 

He and the church membership were bitterly 
opposed to all churches that did not believe in baptism 
by immersion or that allowed or tolerated Sunday 
schools. The community was, as before stated, com- 
posed chiefly of Baptists, but after a while the 
Methodists made perceptible inroads into the "settle- 
ment. ' ' They accepted into the church those baptized 
by sprinkling and those who believed in temperance 
societies and Sunday schools. This assault upon the 
Baptist citadel became so pronounced that notice had 
to be taken of it. Heated and angry discussions took 
place between the adherents of the two faiths. 
Finally Elder Wright made known from the pulpit 
at one of his monthly meetings that 'Hhe Sunday 
after the first Saturday of next month" he would pay 
his particular respects to the Methodists. This 
announcement had the effect of bringing together at 
Sandrun Church the largest assembly ever known in 
that community. Not only did the Baptists turn out, 
but the Methodists as well. The old double log house 
was not large enough to hold the crowd, and many 
stood outside but in hearing distance of the preacher. 
The Methodists had come early and got seats under 
the very drippings of the sanctuary. 

When the hour for the service to begin arrived, 
Mr. Wright entered the church and, with head erect, 
marched into the pulpit. He looked every inch a 
conqueror. I was a mere lad at the time, but I re- 
collect the occurrences of the day as if it were but 
yesterday. He first lined out from the only hymnal 
in the church the familiar hymn, the first lines of 



38 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

which read, ''Go read the third of Matthew, go read 
it through and through." He then asked Thomas 
Riddle to ' ' raise the tune. ' ' The song was sung with 
an impressiveness and enthusiasm rarely witnessed 
in a religious congregation. After the song a short 
prayer was said, and then he opened the Bible and 
turned to the third chapter of Matthew (the Baptist 
platform) and began to read it. He read the whole 
chapter but laid strong emphasis on the following 
verses : 

''5 Then w^ent out to him Jerusalem, 
and all Judaea, and all the region round 
about Jordan, 

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, 
confessing their sins. 

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to 
Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 

14 But John forbade Him, saying, I have 
need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou 
to me? 

15 And Jesus answering said unto him. 
Suffer it to he so now : for thus it becometh 
us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suf- 
fereth Him. 

16 And Jesus, when He was baptized, 
went up straightway out of the water: and, 
lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and 
He saw the Spirit of God descending like a 
dove, and lighting upon Him : 

17 And lo, a voice from heaven saying, 
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased." 

When he had finished reading the chapter, he re- 
peated with great emphasis the words "And Jesus 
went up straightway out of the water. ' ' He took off 



Boyhood in Lincoln County 39 

liis glasses and, with the proud air of a victor, pointed 
his finger at the Methodists and said in a loud voice, 
^^StraigJitway out of the water, and not out of your 
sprinkling pots — not out of your sprinkling pots!" 
This was practically the end of the service, for the 
enthusiasm of the Baptists, their vociferous applause 
at what they considered the "death blow" to the 
Methodists, would allow nothing further to be said. 
In the opinion of the Baptists the battle was won and 
nothing remained but to give burial to the Methodists. 

The Primitive Baptists, popularly called "Hard- 
shells," were a plain, sincere and honest folk. There 
was a man by the name of Jennings who had come 
into the neighborhood and married a widow by the 
name of Cahal. He became very unpopular for some 
reason, and finally joined the Baptist church and was 
baptized in Big Creek by Mr. Wright. One of the 
neighbors who was hostile to Jennings, instructed 
his servants not to water the horses below the place 
where Jennings was immersed, for fear the water 
would make the horses sick. 

Another amusing incident that happened in the 
neighborhood grew out of the fact that Willis Jones 
attempted to preach. He was a good man, but very 
ignorant. He had no education and could neither 
read nor write intelligently. He believed he heard a 
call to preach from the Master, and responded as best 
he could. The Baptists believe that all of their 
preachers are called by God, and so my mother, a firm 
believer in the tenets of the church, when joked about 
Jones, said, "Some one was calling hogs and Willis 
mistook the call and answered." 

Aside from the Baptist and Methodist, there were 



40 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

no other religious organizations in the neighborhood- 
Troy was then, as now, the county seat of Lincoln 
County and situated five miles north of Sandrun 
Church. 

The amusements provided for the younger set 
consisted of gatherings at neighbors' houses, where 
games were played and frequently dances indulged 
in. The music for the dances was furnished by 
negro fiddlers, and was of a character ^'not to be 
sneezed at." There were three of these fiddlers in 
the neighborhood — Rube and Ming, who belonged to 
Billy Clark, and Sneb, who belonged to Boyd. I have 
never heard any sweeter music than that drawn from 
those old fiddles. I can still hear (or imagine I can) 
old Ming as he would play, sing, and call the figures, 
*' Ladies in the center, and all hands round!" ''AH 
four forward, and do-si-do I" ''Swing corners, and 
all promenade!" The dances would continue all 
night long, and with old Ming half asleep and the 
fiddle still going he would sing as an accompaniment, 
"Hop light, ladies, day is a 'breaking, don't you see 
the morning star?" 

Those were good old days, and everybody happy. 
The hat was passed around for the benefit of the fid- 
dlers, and everyone was expected to contribute not less 
than ten cents and not more than twenty-five. This 
was all the expense attending these parties. These 
dances were "pulled off" most generally at the homes 
of Harvey Brown, Jacob Geiger, and Macon Hill. 
The young men and young ladies went to these homes 
on horseback — usually two on a horse — the man be- 
fore, and the lady behind. If the horse objected to 



Boyhood in Lincoln County 41 

*' carrying double" it was good to see with what 
tenacity the young woman held on to the man to keep 
from falling off. The man seemed pleased with the 
situation, and the woman did not object. In the win- 
ter when the snows were deep, every young fellow in 
the neighborhood had a sleigh or, as it was then called, 
a ' ' jumper. ' ' This ' ' jumper ' ' was easily constructed. 
Two saplings of sufficient length were cut down for 
runners. Holes were bored in the larger part, 
standards inserted and braces placed, upon which a 
box sufficiently large for two persons was fastened, 
and the forward or smaller parts of the saplings were 
used as shafts. These were fastened to the hames 
on the horse with lines made of rope, and, with a large 
cow bell on the horse, the gayest trips possible were 
made from house to house in that sparsely settled 
territory. 

In the evenings, after the stock had been fed and 
supper eaten, the negroes in their cabins, the banjo 
was taken down from the wall and a regular "walk 
around" took place. 

It is a just tribute to the negro to say that they 
were faithful, obedient and loving to the whites, and 
there was no lullaby ever sung to the white child that 
was sweeter than that which the *^old mammy" would 
sing. Surely, the good Lord will not forget them in 
the great hereafter. 

An incident showing devotion to the wife and child 
by an old negro was never better exemplified than in 
that which I am about to relate. Christopher Carter 
was a neighbor of our family and owned a negro man 
by the name of John. John had a common-law wife 



42 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

by the name of Paulina, who belonged to my mother. 
Marriage between negroes was prohibited by law, and 
it was only by voluntary cohabitation that semblance 
was given to legality. These two persons, John and 
Paulina, were the father and mother of several chil- 
dren, all of whom under the law belonged to my 
mother. When the California gold excitement of 
1849 was at its height. Carter's three sons, George, 
Tom and Rolla, determined to cross the plains to 
California in search of gold, and with the permission 
of their father, took John (the slave) with them. 
Thus it was that the husband, without his consent, 
was taken away from the wife and children and made 
to work in the gold fields for his young masters. 
Had John seen proper to avail himself of his rights 
to freedom under the laws then existing, he could 
have remained in California a free man. This he 
did not prefer to do, but trusted to his master to take 
him back to slaver}^ and his wife and children in 
Missouri. After being in California a year, the 
youngest of the Carter boys, Rolla, was taken very 
sick. It was thought best to send him home by water 
in care of the faithful old John. The two went on 
board ship at San Fj^ancisco and started for New 
York via Panama. This sick man was carried on the 
shoulders of John across the isthmus and placed in 
a vessel on the Atlantic side. In the course of time 
the vessel reached New York and the two passengers 
made their way from New York to Missouri. I was 
twelve years old when they returned, and I can never 
forget the joy that was overflowing in the cabin when 
John embraced his wife and children. Here was a 
husband so devoted to wife and children that he pre- 



Boyliood in Lincoln County 43 

f erred tliem with slavery to freedom without. Monu- 
ments have been erected to many who are not so 
deserving as old John. 

Carter owned another negro man by the name of 
Fred. He also had a wife at my mother's home, and 
her name was Rachel. These two were also father 
and mother of several children. Carter became in- 
volved in debt and had to sell Fred to get money to 
pay off his indebtedness. Fred was sold to a "negro 
trader" from the South. Thus it was that another 
family was separated for all time. One of the chil- 
dren followed my fortunes in the Civil War and took 
care of my horses while I was Colonel of the 49th 
Missouri Infantry. All of that family of negroes 
are dead, and only tw^o years ago I contributed to the 
funeral expenses of the last one of them. 

I have probably devoted more space to what I con- 
sider great wrongs done to the negroes than I should, 
but I confess that my sympathy for them has much to 
do with it all. 



Ill 

EDUCATION 

John B. Henderson, a Sketch — Schools of the Time 

— Meagre Facilities for Education — St. Charles 

College, 1855 — Read Law while Teaching. 

In the neighborhood where my father settled, was 
a family by the name of Henderson. They came to 
Missouri from Pittsylvania County, Virginia, a short 
time before vaj father settled in the State. The two 
counties of Henry and Pittsylvania joined and com- 
posed a part of a Senatorial District represented by 
my father in the State Senate of Virginia. The 
Henderson family consisted of husband, wife and four 
children when they settled in Missouri. The wife did 
not live long after coming to the neighborhood. The 
husband was addicted to the use of liquor and when in 
his cups was very quarrelsome. While under the in- 
fluence of liquor he got into a fight with a neighbor, 
and in it lost his life. He left four children, two 
boys and two girls, without a dollar in the world. The 
children were named John, James, Ann, and Mary, 
and they were left as I have said, without means and 
without relatives. 

The County Court of Lincoln County appointed 
Carey Duncan guardian for them, and it became his 
dutv to find homes for them among the people of the 



Education 45 



neighborhood. The oldest, John Brooks Henderson 
who, as will be seen hereafter, became greatly and 
justly distinguished, was apprenticed to Oliver 
Sinionds of Troy, the county seat of the county, to 
learn the trade of a cabinet maker. The remaining 
three were given homes with other families. John 
was a red-headed, quick-tempered fellow, and from 
the beginning took a dislike to Simonds. After work- 
ing for a month or so, he and Simonds got into a fight, 
in which the boy got the best of it. Simonds saw Dun- 
can and told him to find another place for John, and 
this he did by ** binding him out" to old Billy Brown- 
ing on a farm. This was the beginning of a career 
hardly surpassed anywhere in the history of the 
United States. 

If ever there was a self-made man in this 
country, John Brooks Henderson was that man. 
He rose from absolute poverty to affluence, and 
from an uneducated youth to a great scholar, 
from a student of law while he taught a country 
school to one of the leading lawyers of the State — 
from a tyro in debate to a convincing orator. He 
became a senator of the United States and served 
with great distinction. He it was who drew the 13th 
Amendment to the Federal Constitution. He and 
Abraham Lincoln were great friends. In his public 
service he reflected great honor upon the State of 
Missouri as well as upon the whole country. I give 
particular mention to Henderson here for the reason 
that Lincoln County was always proud of him and 
justly claimed him as the greatest man the county 
ever produced. 

The terms of his apprenticeship were that Brown- 



46 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

ing should furnish board and lodging and cloth- 
ing and three months' schooling in the year in 
exchange for John's labor on the farm. Here 
the boy lived for two years and until he reached the 
age of eighteen. He had by great industry acquired 
what was then considered a fair education. He went 
to the adjoining county of Pike, where he made the 
acquaintance of Matthew Givens in the lower part of 
that county. Here, through the influence of Givens, 
he was employed to teach a country school, and con- 
tinued as such teacher for a year. He began to study 
law while teaching, and before he was twenty years 
of age was admitted to the bar by Judge Ezra Hunt, 
then Circuit Judge. 

He opened a law office in Louisiana, Missouri, 
where he continued to reside for many years. 
He soon became prominent in his profession and 
by the time he was twenty-three years of age, 
the voters of Pike Coimty elected him as one 
of their representatives in the State Legisla- 
ture and he became at once prominent and influential. 
He impressed himself and his views upon the body 
and took an active part in the legislation of the day, 
especially that which authorized and established a 
State bank and branches. One of these was located 
at Louisiana and Henderson became its president, 
and Benjamin P. Clifford its cashier. 

After he had been admitted to the bar in Pike 
County by Judge Hunt, he went back to Troy to 
attend a term of the Circuit Court. One evening 
during the week he went out to ^' Billy Browning's," 
to visit with the family of his former master and to 
stay over night at the place that had been his home 



Education 47 



during the time of his apprenticeship. He arrived 
after the supper had been served. This story I heard 
Mr. Henderson tell many times. 

Mrs. Browning ordered her son Arthur, who was 
not very bright, to prepare a supper for John. The 
supper was served in a kitchen that stood in the yard 
some thirty feet from the residence. Among the 
** eatables and drinkables" that Arthur served, was a 
quantity of sweet milk that was contained in a yellow 
crock. Upon inspection, Henderson discovered that 
the milk was very rich and covered with thick cream. 
After drinking all of the milk that was in the crock, 
he said to Arthur, ''You are all more liberal than you 
were when I lived here! Then you skimmed the 
milk Avith a feather, but now you give it full of 
cream!" Arthur, in a drawling sort of way, said, 
"That's true, but we would not have given you this 
milk with cream on it, if it hadn't been that a rat got 
drownded in it this afternoon. ' ' After this informa- 
tion the milk refused to stay down and Henderson 
was no better off than when he began the supper. 

In 1860, the year preceding the war he was a candi- 
date for Congress from the Pike County District. 
He was an ardent "Douglas Democrat" and was 
nominated by a convention that met in Mexico, 
Audrain County. On the day he was nominated, 
another convention of delegates representing the 
Bell-Everett or American party met in Mexico in a 
hall separate from that of the Democratic party, and 
there nominated as its candidate, Honorable James 
S. Rollins of Boone County. Thus it w^as that two 
of the greatest men in the State were pitted against 
each other for Congress. The canvass that ensued 



48 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

was the most noted that had ever taken place in the 
State. 

By mutual arrangement between the two, joint 
discussions were held in each county of the dis- 
trict. I was a candidate for Circuit Attorney at 
the same time, and had the pleasure of hearing the 
two in joint discussion at Middletown, Montgomery 
County, and at Cottleville in St. Charles County. I 
was a partisan of Mr. Henderson, supporting him as 
best I could, and cast my first vote for Congressman, 
for him. He was a strong man on the stump and gave 
blow after blow with precision and force. Rollins 
was the more polished orator of the two and by his 
eloquence swayed the populace as very few orators 
could do. He was a handsome man, with most 
gracious manners, and his words were spoken with an 
ease that charmed all listeners. 

James S. Rollins was elected in November by a 
small majority, and took his seat in the next Con- 
gress. He was a candidate for re-election in 1862 
against Honorable Arnold Krekel of St. Charles 
County. He was again successful. In 1864 he was 
succeeded in Congress by the Honorable George W. 
Anderson of Pike. 

The opportunities offered in the neighborhood 
for an education were very limited. About one 
mile south of my home was a school-house built of 
logs. It was about twenty feet square, with a door in 
one side and a chimney place opposite. This chim- 
ney was built of stone gathered from the hill-side, and 
the fireplace was of sufficient size to take large pieces 
of wood. On the third side of the room, a log in its 



Education 49 



entire length had been left out for the purpose of 
making a window. Beneath this window a writing 
desk was made of a long plank about eighteen inches 
wide. It was on this desk — this plank — that the 
children were taught to write. The seats were made 
of logs split in half and supported by legs driven into 
angered holes. The interstices or cracks between the 
logs in the house were filled by mortar made of earth, 
lime and straw. In winter, with a blazing fire going, 
and the door shut, the room was fairly comfortable. 
It was in this house, when I was about six years of 
age, I started to school. With me went my three 
sisters, Elizabeth, Louisa, and Matilda. 

John M. Faulconer was the teacher. He was the 
father of a large family of children, all of whom were 
of school age. Among others that went to the school 
at the same time were the children of Messrs. Ross, 
Creech, Cahal, Blanton, Duncan Carter and others. 
Faulconer was an old resident of the neighborhood 
and while a most excellent man, had a very limited 
education. The books in use at the time were Mc- 
Guff y 's speller and readers. Pike 's arithmetic. Smith 's 
geography and grammar, and a copy plate that was 
followed in writing. The pens used were made by 
the teacher out of goose quills, as there was no such 
thing as a steel pen in those days. Usually the school 
year lasted for about four months, and the teacher 
was paid at the rate of $15.00 per month. He fur- 
nished his own board and lodging. 

Those who attended this school were the children 
of poor people and knew what it was to live 
on short rations. They were healthy and indepen- 



50 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

dent, and grew up to be strong men and women. Now 
and then there would be one who gave little promise 
of usefulness or who "would not take learning." 

A boy by the name of Dick Blanton started to this 
school. His father was a small farmer and conducted 
a diminutive distillery in connection therewith. 
Dick was twelve years old and did not know a letter 
in the book. He had, how^ever, learned to swear, 
drink whiskey and chew tobacco. When he first came, 
he said to the teacher, "All I want is a good educa- 
tion and plenty of new white whiskey. ' ' After he had 
been coming for a week, I (much younger than he) 
ventured to ask him how he was getting along with 
his letters. He replied as follows: "I have learned 

them all except that d d letter *E', but I think I 

will harness that before long." Poor Dick! He 
drifted along in life until the Civil War and then 
very naturally joined the rebels (as we then called 
the Southerners) and was killed in battle. 

There was another boy by the name of Jennings 
that went to that school, and seemingty promised 
well. He also drifted along until the War, and also 
joined the rebels. Early in the fighting he was taken 
prisoner by a Federal command in which I was serv- 
ing. Recognizing him as an old friend and school- 
mate, I asked him why he was in the brush. His 
reply was, "Well, they are going to free the nig- 
gers." I said, "Have you or your folks any niggers 
to free ? ' ' He answered, " No ! " I then said, ' ' Why 
are you so much interested ?" His reply was, "If the 
* niggers' are free, they will steal everything." This 
prompted me to ask him if he or his folks had any- 
thing to steal. He said, "No!" and then he said. 



Education 51 

*'Pat, you are asking me some hard questions, and all 
that I have got to say is that any man who '11 read the 
St. Louis Christian Advocate (a Southern Methodist 
newspaper) and drink Middletown whiskey is bound 
to go into the rebel army. " At a reunion of my regi- 
ment after the war at Wellsville, Missouri, Dr. Mc- 
Amally, the former editor of that paper, was an in- 
vited guest. I repeated this story to the seeming 
edification of all present, especially Dr. McAmally. 

In giving these reminiscences, I have allowed my- 
self to leave the beaten track, that is, the schools of 
that time. 

As I have said, Mr. Faulconer did not have much 
of an education. He could go so far but no further. 
For the several years that I went to him I got only so 
far as the end of the "single rule of three" in Pike's 
arithmetic. At the end of that rule I was told to 
review. The intricacies of the double rule of three 
seemed to be unknown to the teacher and, of course, 
were unknown to me. His knowledge of the other 
studies he sought to teach was on a par with his 
scholarship in arithmetic. He was a good man, how- 
ever, and I revere his memory. 

Later on I was taught by Ellis, Parker, Reynolds, 
and Sydnor at another country school about three 
miles from home. Sydnor was considered the best 
of the lot, for the reason that he had had a year at 
college in Jacksonville, Illinois. He had two sisters, 
Bettie and Abiah, that went to him at the same time 
I did. They grew up to beautiful womanhood and 
were happily married. They and their brother have 
long since passed to the great beyond. 

In addition to these teachers, I was sent to a 
married sister who lived some fifteen miles away, and 



52 AutoHography and Rem iniscences 

there attended another country school taught by *'old 
John Williams." Subsequently I remained at this 
sister's house and went to another country school 
taught by one Thomas Williams, but of no kin to the 
ancient John. 

In September, 1855, I went to the Saint Charles 
College and remained a school year. This college 
was the most pretentious school in that part of the 
State. Dr. Anderson, a Southern Methodist preacher, 
was the President. He had with him in the faculty, 
four or five teachers of good attainments. The 
students attending the college the year I was there 
numbered more than a hundred. Among them were 
E. Spruel Bufort, John Pittman, John C. Orrick, 
Theoderick McDearmon, John and William Bull, 
John Cunningham, Norman Davis, Joseph Dyson, 
Joseph and John Wherry, and others whose names 
for the moment escape me. 

The term was fairly successful so far as advance- 
ment in studies was concerned. At the expiration of 
the term I returned to my home in Lincoln County 
and at the age of eighteen applied for and obtained 
employment to teach school in the same district that 
was first in charge of my old teacher, John M. Faul- 
coner. One of the school trustees was William 
Schaper, who was my warm and steadfast friend. 
The term was for three months at a salary of twenty 
dollars per month. At the expiration of the term I 
was employed at a salary of forty dollars to teach a 
district school in Warren County. In that and the 
adjoining district I taught for nine months, which to- 
gether with the three months in Lincoln County made 
one year of school teaching for me. During the last 
few months of that time I engaged in reading, at 



Education 53 



night and other convenient moments, Blackstone and 
Kent's Commentaries, borrowed from A. V. McKee, 
a lawyer of Troy, who was also school commissioner 
for the County, and who gave me my first certificate 
to teach school. 

In one of the last-mentioned districts, a man by 
the name of Willis Jones (elsewhere mentioned as a 
Baptist preacher) was one of the three school 
trustees. He w^as a good-meaning man but densely 
ignorant. It was customary on Friday afternoon of 
each week, for the patrons of the school to come in 
and hear their children recite. On one occasion Mr. 
Jones was among the visitors. As it happened, I 
was hearing a class in geography. The chief point 
in the examination was as to the rotundity of the 
earth and of its turning on its axis every twenty-four 
hours. In the midst of my effort to fully explain 
to the class, I was interrupted by Mr. Jones, who 
disputed the correctness of what I was saying. With 
much warmth he stated that if the world moved as I 
had indicated, all streams would run the wrong way, 
etc., that his position was not only sustained by that 
of connnon-sense, but fully by the Bible. ''The sun, 
and not the world, moves," he said, ''Joshua com- 
manded the sun to stand still, and therefore it was 
the sun, and not the world, that was moving." 

I was not very well versed in the teachings of the 
Bible, and for a moment I was at a great disadvant- 
age. However, I recovered myself, and said, "Mr. 
Jones, I believe you are correct and that Joshua did 
command the sun to stand still, but can you point to 
me any chapter in the Bible where he ever commanded 
it to start again ? ' ' The old fellow scratched his head 



54 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

and said he could not. So the teacher triumphed 
over the trustee, to the great joy of the class. 

The poor opportunities and meagre facilities for 
acquiring an education in those days are fairly set 
forth in the foregoing. No one has felt this lack and 
the many difficulties in obtaining an education more 
than I. With such learning as I had been able to 
acquire, I determined to enter a law office somewhere 
and do my best to become a lawyer. 



IV 

STUDY OF THE LAW 

Leaving Home — Boivling Green — Reading Law 
ivith Hon. James 0. Broadhead — Experience with a 
Water-faucet — Prominent Families — Judge Ezra 
Hunt — My Future Wife — My First Legal Battle. 

On the 27tli of November, 1857, 1 bade my mother 
good-bye and, with a grip that contained some cloth- 
ing, rode on horseback to Troy for the purpose of 
taking the stage for Bowling Green, to enter the law 
office of Honorable James O. Broadhead as a law 
student. The horse was taken back to the farm by a 
colored boy that accompanied me. At eight o'clock 
in the evening I took passage on the stage and started 
on my journey of thirty-five miles. The night was 
very cold and the snow was deep. The stage-coach 
belonged to Ben Hawkins of Bowling Green, who had 
a contract with the Government to carry the mail 
from St. Charles to Palmyra. This was an old coach, 
drawn by two horses. It did not have a wrap of any 
kind for the comfort of passengers. It happened 
that I was the only traveler that night, and the only 
way I had of keeping my blood in circulation was to 
get out and walk up every hill. 

The first place for changing the horses was at 
Prairieville, on the line between Lincoln and Pike 



56 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

counties. This stage stand was about half way be- 
tween Troy and Bowling Green and was kept by a 
gentleman named Pollard. He had a hot, blazing 
fire going in the house that was most enticing. I 
got out and warmed myself while the horses were 
being changed, but I was not there long before the 
horn blew for another start for Bowling Green. The 
stopping by that fire did me more harm than good 
for I suffered from the cold more intensely than be- 
fore. Finally, about daylight on the morning of the 
28th of November, we pulled up in front of Blain's 
Hotel in Bowling Green. I was at the end of my 
journey. 

I found the proprietor lying on a couch, in the 
''office" and somewhat, as I believed, under the in- 
fluence of liquor. After warming about the big stove 
for a while I became very thirsty. Noticing on one 
side of the room a large tank supposed to contain 
about twenty gallons of water for the use of the hotel 
guests, I went to it and discovered a faucet, the like 
of which I had never seen before. The end of this 
faucet was composed of a metal button about as large 
as a silver dollar. To get the water, this button had 
to be turned in a particular way. I did not under- 
stand the process, so I grasped the button and pulled. 
The whole thing came out and the water spurted half- 
way across the floor in a great stream. This seemed 
to anger the proprietor, Mr. Blain, who jumped to 
his feet and demanded to know where I came from. 
I told him as best I could, and he then said, ''You 
certainly have never been away from home before!" 
To this I meekly assented; the flow of water was 
stopped and I patiently waited for the breakfast bell 



study of the Latv 57 

Having eaten I then began to inquire about Mr. 
Broadbead, for I did not know a soul in the place — 
not even Mr. Broadliead — as my arrangement to en- 
ter Ms office bad been made by letter. I was then 
told that he was out of town and would not return 
for a week. I located his office and went to it, find- 
ing in charge there a young lawyer by the name of 
Campbell — now the Honorable Robert A. Campbell. 
He seemed to know of my coming and it was not long 
before I was comfortably seated in what appeared a 
very large room. This office was on the second floor 
of a two-story brick building and was reached by an 
outside stairway. There was a small room in the 
rear of the office that afterwards became my bedroom. 
The lower floor was occupied by Doctors Bolton and 
Reynolds as a drug store and here they had their 
office also. They were co-partners both in the drug 
business and as practicing physicians. 

In the way above described, I was inducted into 
the quaint old town of Bowling Green. It was in- 
deed a curious old place. The court-house and jail 
stood in a public square, and a store, livery stable, 
blacksmith shop, hotel, and saloon faced the square. 
Residences were scattered here and there without 
much seeming attempt to place them in order upon the 
streets. The population, black and white, did not ex- 
ceed three hundred souls all told. 

The most prominent families were those of Mr. 
Broadhead, Judge Hunt, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Bolton, 
Judge Murray, William Blain, Elcazar Black, Wes- 
ley Hendrick, and James M. Martin. In the country, 
not far away, lived William G. Hawkins, Johnson 
Hendrick, William K. Biggs, William A. Harris, 



58 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Simeon P. Robinson, Edward Dorsey and others, all 
prominent and thrifty farmers. 

Those living in the town of Bowling Green made a 
happy and congenial family. They were cultured 
people and kept well informed as to happenings in 
the world, and their homes were open to all the good 
men and women of the town and surrounding 
country. They were quick to extend courtesies to 
strangers, and through these kindnesses I soon be- 
came acquainted with every man, woman, and child 
in the place. It was but a few days after my arrival 
that I met and became acquainted with Miss Lizzie 
Chambers Hunt, daughter of Judge Ezra Hunt, who 
three years later became my wife. 

The young men and women of the town and 
neighborhood made a most charming society. I re- 
call with much pleasure the names of many of them — 
Sallie Block, Lizzie Hunt, Nancy and Martha 
Hawkins, Maggie Blain, Virginia Martin, America 
Wise, Victoria South, Mary Hendrick, of the young 
women ; and Robert A., Henry C. and James Camp- 
bell, William McCormick, James N. Black, George 
Winn, John W. and Peter Martin, John Edwards, 
and John W. Hendrick, of the young men. 

At the time I entered Colonel Broadhead's office, 
I was about as poorly prepared as a young fellow 
could well be, to undertake so important a work as 
the study of law. My education was only such as I 
had been able to obtain from country schools and one 
year at college at St. Charles, together with what I 
had picked up while teaching the *' young idea how to 
shoot." From the farm in Lincoln County I re- 
ceived enough money to pay my board, which was 



study of the Law 59 

three dollars per week, and now and then a suit of 
clothes of an inexpensive character. However, not- 
withstanding the limited accomplishments I had the 
courage to begin, and with that as principal asset the 
battle started. 

The Bar of the county was a strong one. Cases of 
great importance were tried, and ably tried of course. 
I had the opportunity of attending sessions of the 
court which in a measure served as a lecture room for 
me. There were two terms each year and each term 
lasted for two or three weeks. When the courts, 
Circuit, Probate, and County were not in session, the 
little town was quiet indeed. Now and then I would 
appear before a Justice of the Peace and try a case, 
receiving a fee of not exceeding five dollars. 

The first that I tried was at New Harmony, about 
ten miles from Bowling Green. The style of the case 
was Tabitha Ray against Hezekiah Laird, alias ''Old 
Greasy." The suit was to recover possession of a 
cow. The cow had strayed away from its owner. Miss 
Ray, and had been taken up, posted, and sold by 
Laird to pay the costs and expenses of posting. At 
the sale Laird became the purchaser. Miss Ray en- 
gaged me to bring a suit in replevin to recover 
possession. I hired a horse for fifty cents from 
Billy Blain and rode out to a school-house at New 
Harmony, where Justice Goodman was holding court. 
I went in with more assurance than knowledge, and 
won the case. The cow was turned over to Tabitha 
and she handed me over the princely sum of five 
dollars in gold. After paying twenty-five cents for 
my dinner at the hotel and fifty cents for the hire of 
the horse, I had netted $4.25. Such fees were scarce, 



60 Autobiograph y and Reminiscences 

but now and then I would pick up a dollar by pre- 
paring a settlement of some administrator or curator 
in the Probate Court. In this way I got along fairly 
well. 

In September, 1858, I was made Ring Marshal at 
a county fair. I wore a long red, white, and blue 
sash that reached from my shoulders to my heels and 
marched around the *'ring" with great pomp, calling 
out at the top of my voice, ' ' Bring on your four-year- 
old bulls, your four-year-old trotting stallions, etc.!" 
I was vain enough to think that I was admired by all 
the girls who sat in groups in the amphitheatre. 
Whether I was admired or not by them, they certainly 
made a beautiful picture as they sat in their bright 
gingham dresses and snow-white sunbonnets. 

Bowling Green was a delightful place to live in, and 
the young people enjoyed themselves as much as any 
might elsewhere. Dancing parties were held in the 
dining room of Blain's Hotel and on the first floor 
of the court-house. These parties were attended not 
only by the young men and women of Bowling Green, 
but by many from the city of Louisiana and else- 
where. Two fiddles or more, technically and artistic- 
ally speaking, two violins, made the music. They 
were played by negro men — "Old Major," a free 
negro, and Levi Bryson, who belonged to I. N. Bryson 
of Louisiana. The dancing generally continued from 
dusk until dawn, and frequently during the night the 
old song sung in accompaniment to the fiddles was, 
*'We will dance all night till broad daylight, and go 
home with the girls in the morning!" 

While the young people were prompt in their 



study of the Laiv 61 

attendance at these parties, they were equally prompt 
at church on Sunday. 

I had never attended a service conducted by an 
Episcopal clergyman and was totally ignorant of 
the prayer-book of that church. Such services were 
rare in Bowling Green, for there was no place to hold 
them except through the courtesy of the Presby- 
terians in the church building owned by them. On 
one occasion during the fall of 1858, the Rev. Dr. 
Worthington, rector of an Episcopal church at 
Louisiana, came to Bowling Green to hold services. 
My sweetheart, who afterwards became my wife, was 
a communicant in the Episcopal Church and so when 
the time came I accompanied her to the service. Her 
father. Judge Hunt, was not a member of any church 
but was a ''dyed-in-the-wool" Benton Democrat. He 
disliked Buchanan, then President of the United 
States, with an uncompromising hatred. When we 
returned from the service I was accosted by the 
Judge, who asked me if I had heard anything new at 
the church. I answered ' ' Yes, ' ' and proceeded to say 
how perfectly appropriate the prayers seemed to be, 
especially the ''prayer for the President of the United 
States." This seemed to stir up his hatred of 
Buchanan and he promptly said, "I think so too, for 

the d d old scoundrel needs prayers as much as 

any one could!" I was a little shocked at this be- 
cause I had been taught to believe that Mr. Buchanan 
was a very good man. I was wise enough ^mde7^ all 
of the surrounding circumstances, not to antagonize 
the Judge. 

There was at the time in the office of Judge Hunt, 



62 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

a young fellow by the name of Armstrong who 
aspired to become a lawyer. He was a conceited 
sort of chap and did not hesitate to try to answer any 
question that might be asked him. He too went to 
another church on Sunday and when he returned the 
Judge asked him the same question he had me, ''Did 
you learn anything new?" Armstrong promptly 
said, "No," and when further questioned as to what 
the preacher said, told the Judge that the minister as- 
serted that all persons would die, and proved it by 
saying that all persons heretofore had died. The 
Judge asked Armstrong if he believed the Bible. He 
answered, "Yes." "Well," said Judge Hunt, "how 
about Elijah? He did not die, but was taken alive 
to Heaven." This was a stumper for Armstrong, 
and then and there he determined that his vocation 
was not that of priest or lawyer. 

Another most pathetic and amusing incident 
occurred in Bowling Green in the spring of 1858. 
Colonel James O. Broadhead was the owner of a 
negro man by the name of Estin. The two were 
about the same age and when boys, lived on a farm 
together and so grew to manhood. When Mr. Broad- 
head was married, about the year 1853, Estin became 
his property by virtue of a gift from the Colonel's 
mother. Estin never took his master seriously, but 
always regarded him as a fellow-associate. On this 
occasion, in 1858, Broadhead gave Estin orders which 
the latter would not obey. This brought on a dispute 
that resulted in a fist fight. I did not witness the 
combat, but was told that Estin got the better of it. 
Broadhead came to the office in a great rage and 
ordered me to find Ben Winn (a negro trader) and 



Study of the Law 63 

tell him he wanted to see him. I complied with the 
order and Winn appeared. Broadhead recited the 
trouble he had had with Estin and wound up by en- 
gaging Winn to take Estin to St. Louis and sell him 
to the highest bidder. 

The mode of conveyance between Bowling Green 
and Louisiana on the Mississippi River was by an 
omnibus driven by a man named Henry Wooten. 
Winn soon had Estin on top of the bus on the way to 
the river, where he was to take a boat for St. Louis. 
The bus left Bowling Green about 2:00 P. M., ex- 
pecting to connect with the boat about six o'clock. It 
had just passed over the hill on the way to Louisiana, 
when Mr. Broadhead returned again to the office and 
with me went over all of the occurrences of the day 
with Estin. 

No acting was ever seen on a stage surpassing that 
by Colonel Broadhead. In repeating the circum- 
stances of the assault, he grew very angry and justi- 
fied his course in selling the negro. He then quieted 
down and took the tender side of the controversy 
with himself. He spoke as if talking wholly to him- 
self. Said he, ''My mother gave me Estin, and I 
brought him to Pike County. She was always 
opposed to slavery and I do not believe that she, if 
alive, would approve of my selling him." He would 
then go back to the bitter assault that Estin made up- 
on him and would try to justify himself in making 
the sale. Time and again he referred to his mother, 
and finally the good in him got the better and he 
turned to me, saying, "Have you got anything 
particular to do this afternoon?" I replied that I 
had nothing. He said, "Would you mind taking 



64 Atitohiography and Reminiscences 

your horse and going to Louisiana to tell Winn to 
send Estin back?" I said it Avould give me great 
pleasure to comply with his request. From that time 
until I mounted the horse and was off on a gallop to 
catch up with the bus, Mr. Broadhead was most im- 
patient. I reached Louisiana shortly after the bus 
arrived and when I told the reason for my being 
there, Estin simply remarked, "I thought Marse 
Jeems would get sorry." Estin went back the next 
morning to Bowling Green and resumed his old 
position. 

In 1859 Mr. Broadhead moved his family to St. 
Louis and took Estin with him. After the beginning 
of the Civil War and after several battles had been 
fought and lost by the Union forces, and the hopes of 
the Union men had been sorely tried, Estin suddenly 
appeared with a pack on his back and an old shot-gun 
on his shoulder before his master. Mr. Broadhead 
was greatly astonished, and said, ''Estin, what are 
you going to do?" He replied, "Marse Jeems, I'm 
gwine to jine the army, for this war is not being 
carried on to suit me. " And he did. 

After the war and while Colonel Broadhead, in 
1868, was making a political speech in Cokunbus, 
Ohio, Estin put in an appearance and affectionately 
greeted his old master. 

Part of this story I was a witness to and the other 
part I got from Colonel Broadhead himself. 

Both of them have passed to the next world where, 
in the sight of God, I believe all men stand upon an 
equal footing. 

The Circuit Court began a term on the first Monday 
in March, 1858. Aylett H. Buckner was Judge, 



Study of the Latv 65 

James M. Martin, Clerk, and Mastin H. Arthur, 
Sheriff. The court was in session for about two 
weeks and several cases of importance were tried. 
There was a full attendance of lawyers from the 
county and elsewhere. Among them were James O. 
Broadhead, John B. Henderson, Ezra Hunt, N. P. 
Minor, Robert A. Campbell and others of Pike; 
Thomas L. Anderson, John D. S. Dry den and Gil- 
christ Porter of Marion ; William Porter and A. V. 
McKee of Lincoln, and Uriel Wright of St. Louis. 
The latter was engaged in the defense of English, 
who was charged with the murder of Rhea at 
Louisiana. This was probably the most important 
case for trial. Mr. Broadhead was associated with 
Mr. Wright in the defense and Mr. Henderson was 
employed to assist the prosecuting attorney, Mr. 
Minor. 

This was in fact a battle royal. The defendant 
and the deceased were each connected with influential 
families. English had stabbed Rhea in the heart. 
The surgeon who made the examination of Rhea 
after he died, was Dr. E. M. Bartlett. He was called 
as a witness by the State to describe the wound and 
to say whether it was fatal or not. In the course 
of the examination Bartlett unwrapped what he said 
was the heart of Rhea. Against this exhibition the 
defense vigorously protested. The Court sustained 
the objection and Bartlett was held to a description 
of the wound only. In the course of the argument, 
Mr. Broadhead denounced Bartlett in the severest 
terms for bringing the heart of Rhea into court, and 
characterized him as a *' fiend in human shape." 

This speech made Bartlett the bitter and implac- 



66 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

able enemy of Broadhead. The two never met until 
nearly thirty years after the occurrence. Mr. Broad- 
head and I went to Louisiana to see a very dear 
friend, Henry V. P. Block, who was lying danger- 
ously ill. Dr. Bartlett was one of the attending 
physicians and came into the sick room while we were 
there. I introduced them to each other, and they then 
and there shook hands and were afterwards warm 
friends. 

In this recital I have digressed from the trial and 
its results. The argument of Uriel Wright for the 
defense was a masterpiece of eloquence, and the clos- 
ing argument for the State by Henderson was strong 
and seemingly convincing. After an absence of 
several hours, the jury returned with a verdict of 
guilty of manslaughter only, and a punishment of 
two years in the State Penitentiary. English was 
pardoned by the Governor before he reached the 
prison. 

To a young student like myself (only twenty years 
old) , this and other trials were of much worth. When 
the court was not in session old "Uncle Jimmie 
Martin," the Clerk, would regale me with the happen- 
ings in other cases at prior terms of the Court. He 
was a good man, and seemed to take quite an interest 
in me. He was ready at all convenient times to give 
me such information as he thought might be of benefit. 

Martin related the history of another case tried at 
Bowling Green and he seemed to enjoy the recital 
very much. A citizen who had bought from another 
a negro man, brought suit to recover damages for a 
breach of contract. This contract was in writing 
and, among other conditions, warranted the negro to 



Study of the Law 67 

be sound in body and mind. Among the lawyers en- 
gaged in the trial was John Jamison of Callaway 
County. He was noted as a great "jury lawyer." 
In the course of the trial a young doctor was intro- 
duced as a witness to testify as to the ailments 
of the negro. He used such technical language 
that neither the Court, jury nor lawyers knew 
any more about what was the matter with the 
negro than they did before he testified. Jamison, in 
his speech to the jury, said, "Gentlemen, you heard 
the testimony of the young doctor. His learning is 
great and his knowledge of disease surpasses any- 
thing that has ever been heard in court. You gentle- 
men are uneducated, ignorant farmers and know 
nothing of the organization of the human body. It 
is only the latvyers that fully understood what the 
doctor said. I will try to tell you in language that 
you can understand what was the matter with the 
negro and what caused his death. Gentlemen, he 
had the Bum Gajum of the tetotum, or the whole 
prosinority of the circumf radunction. " Jamison 
won the case, and the young doctor left the neighbor- 
hood to hunt practice elsewhere. 

The major part of my time was spent in listening 
to stories by Martin and others in the daytime and 
"doing society" in the evening. 



1858 - 1860 

The Small-pox Scare — Lynching in Lincoln County 
— Admitted to the Bar — The Lincoln-Douglas De- 
hate at Quincy — Electioneering — Elected Circuit 
Attorney — Marriage at Louisiana. 

The County Court of Pike County had in 1857 
authorized the building of a new jail. The contract 
was made and work begun in January, 1858. The 
iron and steel work was carried forward by laborers 
from the city of St. Louis. These laborers secured 
quarters and board in Blain's Hotel. Shortly after 
they came, one of them broke out with a malignant 
case of smallpox. The sick man was removed to an 
old vacant house about a mile away, where he shortly 
afterwards died. Many were exposed to the disease 
and especially the children of Mr. Blain. Doctor 
Stephen J. Reynolds was the attending physician 
who vaccinated all of the Blains and many more. 

It became at once a battle royal between smallpox 
and vaccination. The latter prevailed and the cases 
(there were several) that appeared did not get be- 
yond the milder type. It was a complete demonstra- 
tion, as I thought, of the efficacy of vaccination. The 
people were greatly alarmed. One morning when I 
woke up, I discovered that my whole body was broken 



1858-1860 69 



out in red splotches. This frightened me, of course, 
and I felt certain that I had a genuine case of small- 
pox. I sought Dr. Reynolds, who made a close and 
thorough inspection and, to my great joy, pronounced 
it a case of *' nettle rash." 

There was a man by the name of Braustetter living 
about eight miles from Bowling Green in Indian 
Creek township, who happened to be in Bowling 
Green when the sick man was removed from the hotel. 
He was no closer to the wagon that carried the patient 
away than a half block, but he became infected and 
in a few days thereafter died. He communicated 
the disease to others in his neighborhood who also 
sickened and died. 

The excitement attending the appearance of this 
disease speedily subsided and the citizens turned their 
attention to matters more pleasant to contemplate. 

Having spent Christmas with my mother on the 
farm in Lincoln County, I was at the county seat on 
the 1st of January, 1858. The first day of the 
year was the time fixed by general consent for the 
sale and hire of negro slaves. There was a large 
assemblage of individuals there, some of whom went 
for the purpose of settling up accounts at the stores 
(settlements were usually made on that day), some 
for selling or buying of slaves, others for hiring 
of slaves, and many others were idle spectators. 

An incident occurred that day that would never 
be forgotten by those who witnessed it. On the 
evening before Christmas a man by the name of 
Thornhill was stabbed to death by a negro slave be- 
longing to hmi. The facts were briefly these: The 
merchants (there were four or five of them) of Troy 



70 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

got their goods from St. Louis via the Mississippi 
River to Cap-Au-Gris and thence by wagon across 
the country to Troy. Thornhill was engaged by the 
merchants to haul their goods. This he did with a 
wagon and four horses driven by a negro man named 
Giles. Giles had been to Cap-Au-Gris for a load of 
goods on the day before Christmas, and returning by 
way of his master's house, reached there late in the 
evening to stay overnight. Thornhill at the time was 
under the influence of liquor and for some trivial 
cause began to abuse Giles, and finally without any 
justification whatever, assaulted and beat him 
severely with a large pair of *' bridle bits." The 
assault was vicious and unprovoked, and the negro in 
absolute self-defense, and to save his own life, stabbed 
Thornhill with a small pocket knife. Thornhill died 
the next day from the effects of the wound. The 
negro was arrested and lodged in the jail at Troy. 
There he remained until the first day of January. 

A neighbor of Thornhill 's, by the name of Callo- 
way, was in Troy on that day. Mounted on a block 
in front of Parker's store, he began to harangue the 
crowd about the death of Thornhill. He appealed to 
the people to go to the jail and take the negro out and 
burn him. A few hot-headed, vicious and drunken 
men responded to this appeal, and armed with ham- 
mers and bars went to the jail and overpowered, or 
rather over-awed the sheriff, Peachy Shelton, broke 
open the door and led Giles (who was already 
shackled) out into the yard. 

The only effort to stop the mob was feebly made by 
Shelton, who said, ''Gentlemen, for God's sake, let 
the law take its course!" A great crowd of men 



^^ 1858-1860 71 

stood silent, without even a protest, and witnessed the 
mob (a half dozen men) prepare for the burning of 
this faithful old negro. There was an old fence 
around the jail, made of rails that were dry as tinder. 
A post made of one of these was driven into the 
ground and Giles fastened to it. The mob then took 
more rails from the fence and built a three-cornered 
pen around the poor defenseless negro and set it on 
fire. He was burned to death and his body entirely 
destroyed. 

In a few days after this, Aylett H. Buckner, who 
was the Judge of the Circuit Court, called a special 
grand jury to inquire into the death of Giles, and to 
mdict those who had caused it. The grand jury met 
but failed to return an indictment, not because the 
murderers were unknown, but simply because they 
were pro-slavery men and believed that the negro 
had no right to strike in self-defense. I witnessed 
this great outrage but was powerless to prevent it 
The Grand Jury failed to indict, but justice did not 
sleep. Each and every one of the ring leaders in- 
cludmg Calloway, Segrass, and others, in a little while 
met violent deaths. 

This great wrong and the failure of the people of 
the County of Lincoln to enforce the law against the 
murderers, cast a stain on the county from which after 
more than sixty years, it has not fully recovered. 
Ihis great outrage upon the life of a human being 
and the utter failure of those charged with the en- 
torcement of law to prosecute the wilful and delib- 
erate murderers was the necessary result of the 
teachings of those who advocated the right of a white 
man to own a black one, and to deny to the latter the 



72 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness, as expressed in the Declaration of In- 
dependence. 

In the splendid memorial address of George Ban- 
croft, the historian, delivered before the two houses of 
Congress in 1865 upon the life and character of 
Abraham Lincoln, he said, among other things, ''In 
supporting incipient measures for emancipation, 
Jefferson encountered difficulties greater than he 
could overcome and, after vain wrestling, the words 
that broke from him, 'I tremble for my country when 
I reflect that God is just, that His justice can not 
sleep forever,' were words of despair. It was the 
desire of Washington's heart that Virginia should 
remove slavery by a public act, and as the prospects 
of a general emancipation grew more and more dim, 
he, in utter hopelessness of the action of the State, 
did all that he could by bequeathing freedom to his 
own slaves. 

'The mills of the gods grind slowly. 
But they grind exceeding small. ' ' ' 

On the 5th of January I returned to Bowling Green 
and resumed my place in the office of Mr. Broadhead. 
There was, outside of a few social gatherings, but 
little to be done there during the remainder of the 
winter. 

On the first Monday in March, 1858, a term of the 
Circuit Court was begun with Aylett H. Buckner on 
the bench ; N. P. Minor, Circuit Attorney ; James M. 
Martin, Clerk; and Mastin H. Arthur, Sheriff in 
attendance. This was the first term of the Circuit 
Court that I was privileged to attend. Besides mem- 



1858 - 1860 73 



bers of the local bar, which was indeed a strong one, 
including James O. Broadhead, Ezra Hunt, John B. 
Henderson, Thomas P. Hoy, Robert A. Campbell, N. 
P. Minor, William L. Gatewood and Samuel F. Mur- 
ray, there were lawyers of great distinction from 
other parts of the State ; namely, Thomas L. Ander- 
son and John D. S. Dryden of Palmyra, Alfred W. 
Lamb and William Harrison of Hannibal, Uriel 
Wright of St. Louis, and others. 

The docket was quite full of important cases, both 
civil and criminal. The most important criminal 
case docketed for trial was that of the State of 
Missouri against English, who was charged with the 
murder of a young man by the name of Rhea. The 
story of this trial and the result has been previously 
told. 

I attended court every day during the term and 
my observations during the time were most interest- 
ing and beneficial. There is no place equal to a court 
room where lawyers are actively engaged in the trial 
of cases, for the education of a student of law. I 
made it a point to attend the sessions of all courts 
held in Bowling Green, whether the Circuit, Probate 
or County Court or Justice of the Peace Courts, and 
I am frank to say that the time given to them was of 
greater benefit to me than was double the time spent 
in studying over cases reported in the books. 

In the Circuit Court of Pike County at Bowling 
Green, in March, 1859, 1 was admitted to the Bar by 
Aylett H. Buckner, then Judge. I opened a law 
office in one of the small rooms of the court house, 
for which I agreed with the County Court to pay the 
sum of twenty-five dollars per year. I had a few law 



74 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

books, an ordinary table, and three or four split- 
bottom chairs. I got a man to paint my name on a 
piece of tin 12x12, *'D. P. Dyer, Attorney and Coun- 
sellor at Law," and fastened it on the door. And 
thus it was that my ship was launched and a struggle 
for bread began. 

I was reasonably successful, more so than my 
acquirements justified. I was, however, badly de- 
feated in the first case I tried in the Circuit Court, as 
my client was speedily sent to the penitentiary for a 
period of five years. The case was this : A man by 
the name of Knapp was indicted by the Grand Jury 
for enticing and attempting to entice a negro man 
belonging to John McCormick of Ashley, Pike 
County, to leave his master and seek freedom in 
Canada. The defendant was poor and unable to em- 
ploy a lawyer, and the Judge appointed me to defend 
him. Slavery was a recognized institution in the 
State and the Legislature had passed most drastic 
laws to protect slave property. 

In what I have said, allusion has been frequently 
made to the wrongs of the negro, but in this case it 
was the wrong done a white man who was trying to 
help a negro. In those days a negro could not testify 
in court, nor could a defendant in a criminal case 
testify in his own behalf. The negro in this case 
had betrayed his friend and told his master of the 
attempt to induce him to leave. Thereupon McCor- 
mick and Sam Russell, his neighbor, laid a trap to 
catch Knapp, so they could testify in court against 
him. They concealed themselves from view and 
heard the conversation between Knapp and the negro, 
and in this way were qualified to testify. The pro- 



1858 - 1860 75 



slavery sentiment in the county was so strong that 
Knapp had but a poor chance for even a fair hearing, 
much less an acquittal, before any jury that might 
be chosen. I did the very best I could, but the jury 
found him guilty and fixed his punishment in the 
penitentiary at five years. 

A good friend of mine by the name of Johnson 
Hendrick lived in the neighborhood and was himself 
the owner of several negroes. He shared with others 
the prejudice that existed against all men who be- 
lieved that slavery was wrong. He attended the 
trial, and when the verdict came in he promptly con- 
gratulated the defendant. Knapp was, of course, 
indignant and said, ''I see nothing to be congratu- 
lated for in this verdict. I am an honest man and 
was only trying to do unto others what I would have 
others do unto me! For this I am to be sent to 
prison to be the associate of thieves and murderers, 
and it is for this you congratulate me?" Hendrick 
was for the moment speechless, but when he re- 
covered, said, **I congratulate you on the size of the 
verdict. If you had had another lawyer like Dyer 
you would have gone for ten years instead of five." 

Thus it was I began the practice of law in the Cir- 
cuit Court. 

From that time on the political excitement ran very 
high. Men were divided as they had never been be- 
fore. The discussion of the slavery question (and 
that was the chief one) became very bitter and the 
threat of disunion began to loom up. The decision 
in the Dred Scott case had been made by the Supreme 
Court of the United States, in which it denied to 
Scott, a negro, the right of freedom. The Court was 



76 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

bitterly assailed by some for its decision, and vigor- 
ously defended by others. Political parties were 
formed and political battles of the fiercest character 
were fought. 

In the fall of 1858, a joint debate between Senator 
Stephen A. Douglas and Honorable Abraham 
Lincoln was being held in the State of Illinois that 
attracted world-wide attention. On the 13th day of 
October of that year, I went to Quincy, Illinois, to 
hear them. I left Bowling Green at night and went 
to Louisiana, remaining there overnight, and took 
the boat about daylight the next morning for Quincy, 
some fifty miles distant. The boat arrived about 
11:00 A. M., just as the Republican procession was 
passing. I had never seen a Republican procession 
before, and up to that time had never heard a Re- 
publican speech. I was curious to hear everything 
that was to be said by the representative of either 
party, and especially by the Republican. I fell in 
behind the procession, which after awhile halted in 
front of the hotel where Mr. Lincoln was stopping. 

There was much enthusiasm and much cheering as 
Mr. Lincoln appeared upon the balcony to say a few 
words of thanks. I saw him on two or three occasions 
during the day, but never again after that time. His 
sincere face, so full of tenderness and seeming sad- 
ness, made a deep and lasting impression upon me. 

The debate that day between Mr. Lincoln and 
Senator Douglas took place in a public park, and the 
crowd that gathered there was immense. Douglas was 
short in stature but a great orator. Lincoln was tall, 
ungainly-looking, with a bronzed face, a voice not 
near so charming as that of his opponent, but his 



1858 - 1860 77 



power as a logical and convincing debater, in my 
opinion, surpassed that of Mr. Douglas. I was only 
twenty years old at the time and my sympathies were 
with Mr. Douglas, but the logical reasoning of Mr. 
Lincoln shook my faith in the correctness of Mr. 
Douglas's position. 

After the debate was over, I took the ''down boat" 
for home. I heard Mr. Douglas once after that, but 
never saw or heard Mr. Lincoln again. The debate 
at Quincy was one of a series planned and agreed 
upon by the two. Douglas was the Democratic 
candidate for the United States Senate and Mr. 
Lincoln was his Republican opponent. The Legisla- 
ture at that time chose the senator, and at the election 
in November a majority of three Democrats, I think, 
was elected to the Legislature. Mr. Douglas was 
chosen senator for another six years and Mr. Lincoln 
returned to Springfield and resumed the practice of 
law. 

These debates resulted not only in the nomination 
of Douglas for President by a part of the Democratic 
party in 1860, but in the nomination by the Re- 
publicans of Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency, and his 
election in November of that year. 

Within the ten days preceding the election on the 
5th day of November, I visited many places in each 
of the fLYG; counties of the circuit "electioneering," 
as I was rimning for Circuit Attorney. These trips 
were made altogether on the back of a faithful horse 
named Sam that my mother had permitted me to use 
for many years. He was a fine saddle-horse and 
could gallop for many miles without seeming to tire. 



78 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

Within these ten days I rode more than two hundred 
miles. 

On Sunday night before the election, I stayed near 
Williamsburg, Callaway County, with a man by the 
name of Hobson. He was the father of five sons, all 
of whom were of age. He with the five sons were 
ardent ** Douglas men." I had never been in Calla- 
way County, but was careful to take letters of intro- 
duction from Honorable John B. Henderson to 
prominent men there. I took one to Mr. Hobson 
which seemed to satisfy him that I was the proper 
person to vote for for Circuit Attorney. He and his 
sons were very active for me at the election in the 
town of Williamsburg. In the same place was a 
merchant by the name of Woodlin. He had been an 
old Whig but was supporting for President, John 
Bell of Tennessee. Mr. Woodlin had previously 
lived in Warren County and was a warm friend of 
my brother George and his family. I called on him 
and he at once promised to "rally" the Bell men to 
my support, which he did. At this precinct I beat 
my chief opponent, Colonel Minor, more than three 
to one. 

From Williamsburg, I rode on to Fulton, the 
county seat of Callaway County, arriving there about 
noon on the day before the election. I was a perfect 
stranger in the place but managed to find a few young 
friends who were there at school. These formed a 
sort of nucleus for a meeting at the court house that 
night. I also had letters to William Harrison and 
Daniel Tucker, prominent Douglas men in Fulton. 
They managed to get up quite a respectable meeting 



1858 - 1860 79 



at the court house and arranged a joint discussion 
between a young fellow about my age, named Mc- 
Intyre, and myself. He was an ardent supporter of 
Bell and Everett. We both spoke. At this precinct 
I was quite successful the next day and received a 
large plurality over my opponents. 

I left Fulton late in the afternoon on my return 
to the lower part of the district, passing through 
Williamsburg on my way back to Hobson's, and 
learned the result of the poll at that place. I stayed 
that night at Hobson's. The next morning, Wednes- 
day, I rode on down the Boon's Lick Road to Dan- 
ville, and stopped to get the returns of the election 
in Montgomery County. About noon of that day I 
rode to New Florence, a distance of four miles, for 
the purpose of taking a train down to Warrenton, 
where the Circuit Court was in session and where 
my chief opponent was for the time being engaged. 
At New Florence I took the saddle and bridle off of 
faithful old Sam and tied a card in his mane, saying, 
*'Let him go — D. P. Dyer," and turned him loose. 

This place was about twenty-five miles west of my 
mother's farm in Lincoln County. The next morn- 
ing she discovered the horse in the cornfield ''helping 
himself." 

The train came along shortly after this and I went 
on to Warrenton. Here I met Colonel Minor, my 
opponent, compared notes, and found that I had been 
elected Circuit Attorney for the 3d Circuit by less 
than three hundred votes. The most gratifying 
circmnstance attending that election was the vote 
cast in Clark Township, Lincoln County. It was 
here that my father settled in 1841 and it was here 



80 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

that I went to school when a boy. The poll showed 
125 votes cast in the precinct, of which I received 125. 

I went from Warrenton to see my mother and re- 
mained with her until the 14th of November. On 
that day I went to St. Louis and took a boat, the Rob 
Roy, for Louisiana, Missouri, where I was to be 
married the following day. The boat arrived at 
Louisiana about sunrise the morning of the 15th. 
Here I found my sweetheart waiting for me on the 
porch of the residence of Dr. W. C. Hardin, her 
uncle. Her father. Judge Ezra Hunt, had, in 
September before, suddenly died at Troy, while there 
attending a term of the Circuit Court. This necessi- 
tated a change at Bowling Green and it was deter- 
mined that the wedding should take place in Louisiana 
at the residence of her uncle and aunt. Doctor and 
Mrs. William C. Hardin. 

After the death of Judge Hunt, I bought of Doctor 
William Bolton two acres of ground with a one-story 
log and frame building containing four rooms and an 
outbuilding of one room for servants, situated in the 
eastern part of Bowling Green opposite the late 
residence of Champ Clark, for the sum of $700.00. 
Part of the furniture used by the family of Judge 
Hunt was removed to this house and there placed in 
position by myself and my intended bride in October. 
Thus it was that everything was in readiness for our 
future home. 

The fifteenth of November, our wedding day, was 
the most charming of any day in the year. The sky 
was clear, the air balmy, and for once at least it could 
be truly said that it was a ''beautiful Indian-summer 
day." After breakfast that morning, I drove to 



1858 - 1860 83 



Bowling Green and returned to Louisiana that eve- 
ning to be married. At 7 :30 Lizzie Chambers Hunt 
and I were joined in marriage by the Reverend John 
T. Worthington, rector of the Episcopal Church at 
that place. The wedding party that attended the 
bride and groom was composed of Misses Sallie 
Block, Ella Porter, Maria and Louise Hardin, Robert 
A. Campbell, William McCormick, Righter Levering, 
and William R. Hardin. Shortly after that time, 
Sallie Block was married to William McCormick and 
Ella Porter to Righter Levering. 

It has now been sixty-one years since the day my 
marriage took place. All of those composing the 
wedding party except Robert A. Campbell, Louise 
Hardin Pratt, and myself, have passed into the great 
beyond. Mr. Campbell is now in his 90th, Mrs. Pratt 
in her 82d, and I in my 84th year. 

The evening after we were married, my wife and I 
took the boat, Rob Roy, on her return trip to St. 
Louis, for a visit to my mother in Lincoln County. 
On our way we stopped over at St. Charles from 
Saturday, the 17th, to Monday, the 19th, and had a 
visit with Judge and Mrs. W. W. Edwards, the latter 
being an elder sister of my wife. On Monday we 
proceeded to the farm in Lincoln County and there 
remained with my mother until the following Thurs- 
day. 

She took the course usually observed in her day, 
of preparing something for the comfort of new be- 
ginners at housekeeping. She engaged a neighbor, 
with a wagon and team, to make a trip to Bowling 
Green. Promptly on the morning specified, he 
appeared and took on his load, consisting of two 



84 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

hundred pounds of hams and sides, two hundred 
pounds of flour, two hundred pounds of cornmeal, 
forty pounds of lard, one quarter of beef, and a 
feather bed. To all this was added a negro woman, 
Rachel, and her three children, all of whom were 
slaves. Rachel's husband, a man by the name of 
Ambrose who belonged to Doctor Henry C. Wright, 
was permitted to accompany his wife and children to 
Bowling Green. These altogether made a pretty 
fair wagonload. 

My wife and I took an old buggy drawn by faith- 
ful old Sam, and we all started early Thursday morn- 
ing for Bowling Green, a distance of thirty-five miles. 
Shortly after starting it began to snow and so con- 
tinued all day. The roads were heavy and w^e did 
not reach the end. of our journey until it was dark. 
The negroes went to the little house in the yard of the 
place I had bought, and there remained during the 
night. My wife and I staid at Blain's Hotel, and the 
next morning, bright and early, we went to our own 
house, built fires, and began housekeeping. 

I prevailed upon my friend. Doctor Stephen J. 
Reynolds of Bowling Green, to hire Ambrose from 
Doctor Wright for the ensuing year, so that Ambrose 
and his wife and children could be close to each other. 
On the day after our arrival we were joined by my 
wife's mother and little sister. My wife's brother, 
Levi Pettibone Hunt, was temporarily at school at 
St. Charles. Thus it was that the family was formed 
and continued until death removed Mrs. Hunt. 

Toward the end of November I received my com- 
mission as Circuit Attorney for the 3d Judicial Cir- 
cuit. The first term of the Circuit Court for the trial 



1858 - 1860 85 



of a criminal cause was held at Danville, Montgomery 
County, on the first Monday in December. I rode 
across the coimtry on horseback to Danville and 
prosecuted a man for malicious mischief. The 
accused was at outs with a neighbor of his, and out of 
revenge for a real or supposed grievance, cut out the 
tongue of a mule belonging to his supposed enemy. 
The defendant was defended by General Jeff Jones 
and Henry C. Hayden of Callaway County. After 
a trial lasting a couple of days the defendant was con- 
victed and sentenced to the penitentiary for two years. 



VI 

THE VOLCANO RUMBLES 

Missouri State Convention of 1861 — Secession De- 
hated — Camp Jackson — Lincoln Inaugurated — 
Frank P. Blair, Jr. — Incompetence of Fremont — 
Appointed Lieutenant of Home Guards — Amusing 
Incidents of the Time. 

At this time the country was in an uproar over the 
election of Abraham Lincoln and threats of disunion 
were heard on every side. The Legislature of the 
State in January passed an act authorizing an election 
of delegates to a State Convention, ostensibly to take 
into consideration the relation of the State to the 
Federal Government, but in reality for the purpose 
of passing an ordinance of secession. The election 
was to be held in February, 1861. The number of 
delegates to be elected was three from each Senatorial 
District in the State. 

Sentiment was very much divided and the bitter- 
ness engendered was most pronounced. There were 
unconditional Union men, conditional Union men, 
secessionists and semi-secessionists. The members 
of the Legislature that passed the act calling the con- 
vention were strongly pro-slavery, and it was their 
purpose to control the election of delegates and thus 
secure the passage of an ordinance uniting the for- 



The Volcano Rumbles 87 

tunes of Missouri with the more southern States. 
The Union men from all parts of the State en- 
thusiastically rallied, and elected a majority of the 
delegates. Never in the history of the State had 
there been gathered together in a legislative body 
men of such great ability as composed that conven- 
tion. 

In the Pike County District the leader of the Union 
forces was John B. Henderson, while Aylett H. Buck- 
ner, then judge of the Circuit Court, was the leader 
of the disunionists. Henderson and his associates 
(Calhoun of Audrain and Zimmerman of Lincoln) 
were elected by a large majority. From other parts 
of the State came their greatest men. Hamilton R. 
Gamble, James O. Broadhead, Samuel M. Brecken- 
ridge, Uriel Wright of St. Louis, Sterling Price of 
Chariton, William A. Hall of Randolph, Willard P. 
Hall of Buchanan, John F. Philips of Pettis, A. W. 
Doniphan of Claj^ Joseph J. Gravelly of Cedar, 
Robert M. Stewart of Buchanan, and John T. Redd 
of Marion were some of the men elected to that Con- 
vention which met at Jefferson City on the 28th day 
of February, 1861. 

The Legislature that called it into existence was 
also in session and continued to pass bills of a 
treasonable character, among which was one known 
as the "Jackson Military Bill" providing for the en- 
rollment of all white male citizens of the State be- 
tween the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. 
Provision was made for the appointment of enrolling 
officers, etc. This bill provided for an oath to be ad- 
ministered to each enrolled militiaman to support the 
Constitution of the State and obey orders of the com- 



88 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

mander-in-chief, Claiborne F. Jackson, then Gover- 
nor of the State, but no mention was made of the Con- 
stitution and laws of the United States. 

All of this was being done before Mr. Lincoln was 
inaugurated and while the Southerners in President 
Buchanan's cabinet had absolute control of the 
Army and Navy. During this time the Union men 
of the State began to organize companies and regi- 
ments of what was then called ''Home Guards.'^ 
They had only such arms as were o^vned by individual 
members, such as shot-guns, squirrel rifles, with now 
and then an old "horse pistol" that was worthless 
except for the noise it made. 

A semblance of order was maintained in the State 
for a while. The courts were in session, trials of 
causes held, etc. I attended the courts in my circuit, 
presented cases to the Grand Juries and tried quite 
a niunber of persons that were indicted. While the 
courts were in session, the people were busy organiz- 
ing for what seemed, and subsequently was shown to 
be, an inevitable conflict. The citizenship of Pike 
County was made up largely of Virginians and 
Kentuckians. The very active participants on either 
side were chiefly Virginians. The most prominent 
on the Union side was John B. Henderson who was 
born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The most 
prominent and aggressive on the disunion side was 
Judge Aylett H. Buckner, also a Virginian by birth. 
The contest took the appearance of a ''family row" 
and was very, ve7^'y bitter. 

During its session in Jefferson City, the Legisla- 
ture was visited by one or more emissaries from the 
South, notably one from the State of Mississippi. 



The Volcano Rumbles 89 



They came as accredited representatives of their re- 
spective States, and as such were received by the 
General Assembly in joint session of the two houses. 
The purpose of the visit was to lay such facts before 
the Legislature as would induce it to pass an act in 
favor of secession. 

The Convention after being in session for sometime, 
adjourned to meet in the city of St. Louis. The 
Legislature remained in session at Jefferson City and 
continued to pass bills that were in every way hostile 
to the sentiment of the people as expressed in the 
election of delegates to the Convention. 

State after State in the South passed ordinances 
of secession and established temporary governments. 
The Governor of the State of Missouri was in close 
touch with the southern program and was heart and 
soul a part of it. He ordered the assemblage of the 
militia at St. Louis under the command of General 
Frost who resigned from the army of the United 
States sometime before. This camp was given the 
name of the Governor, and became known as Camp 
Jackson. Secessionists from all parts of the State 
came to this camp and were present aiding and 
assisting in the organization and drilling of this 
militia. The men had been armed with guns taken 
from the United States Arsenal at Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana, and shipped to St. Louis on the Steamer 
Swan ; this, of course, all done with the knowledge of 
the Secretary of War in Mr. Buchanan ^s cabinet. 

When Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated in March, 1861, 
the policy of the Administration was changed. At 
that time the active, aggressive leader of the Union 
men in Missouri was Frank P. Blair, Jr. He was 



90 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

supported locally by such men as James O. Broad- 
liead, Samuel T. GloA^er, Samuel M. Breckenridge, 
John How and others, and, of course, had the friend- 
ship and support of the Union men in the Convention. 
By authority of President Lincoln, Blair organized 
a regiment of loyalists and became their Colonel. 

Like organizations were made throughout the 
State and sworn into the service of the United States. 
These regiments were composed very largely of Ger- 
mans, while the regiments of militia at Camp Jack- 
son were made uj) of Southerners who were opposed 
to Mr. Lincoln and believed in the right of the State 
to secede from the Union. Recruiting and drilling 
were carried on in each camp. The feeling between 
them became very bitter and a conflict seemed in- 
evitable. At this time there was a small garrison of 
Federal troops at Jefferson Barracks, commanded 
by a slight, red-headed Captain by the name of 
Nathaniel Lyon who was born in the State of Con- 
necticut. He was every inch a soldier, and loyal to 
the flag of the United States. He and Blair con- 
ferred, and at this conference it was determined that 
a movement against Camp Jackson should be made 
with the soldiers at Jefferson Barracks and the regi- 
ments of volunteers. On the morning of the 10th of 
May, 1861, the assault took place and the entire State 
force was captured and made prisoner. This was 
the culmination of what at all times seemed im- 
minent, a conflict between the two. 

Men hastily took sides, and those who claimed to 
be Union men with conditions, went mth the seces- 
sionists. Members of this kind in the State Con- 



The Volcano Rumbles 91 



vention resigned, notably ex-Governor Price, who be- 
came a Major General in the Confederate Army. 

The taking of Camp Jackson brought matters to a 
focus. The people of the State were everywhere in 
a frenzy, the secessionists for what they termed a 
*' dastardly outrage" upon the rights of the State, and 
the loyalists for what to them was a glorious achieve- 
ment in the cause of the Union. The State Govern- 
ment became greatly alarmed and by its agents sought 
conferences with Blair and Lyon at St. Louis. In 
this they accomplished nothing, for the result was 
that the Governor and other State officers fled from 
the capital and it was occupied by Federal troops. 

The Convention met in session and passed an 
ordinance deposing Jackson as Governor, and elected 
Hamilton R. Gamble in his place. This gentleman 
at once assmned his duties. From that time on con- 
flicts occurred between Federal and State troops and 
battles were fought. Sterling Price was appointed 
by Jackson to command the "State troops," the com- 
panies theretofore organized under the direction of 
Jackson. These troops retreated toward the south- 
western part of the State, and being reinforced by 
companies from Arkansas and the Indian Territory 
made a stand a few miles south of Springfield, 
Missouri, giving battle to the Federal troops under 
command of Lyon, who had been promoted from 
Captain to that of Brigadier-General by President 
Lincoln. 

The battle was a hard-fought one, the hardest that 
had taken place in the State. General Lyon was 
killed while leading a charge upon the enemy and his 



92 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

loss was deeply and keenly felt by the Unionists of 
the State. The battle was not decisive. The Union 
army, after the death of Lyon, fell back to Spring- 
field but the troops opposing it did not follow. It 
was practically a "drawn battle." 

The State Convention remained in existence and 
continued, when in session, to enact laws. The mili- 
tary forces were in constant clash and some im- 
portant battles were fought in different parts, notably 
at Lexington and other places in the middle and 
western part of the State. The Union forces con- 
tinued to drive the Jackson State forces toward the 
south. At Wilson's Creek, south of Springfield, in 
Greene County, the fleeing troops reinforced by com- 
panies from Arkansas made a stand and a terrific 
battle was fought, with no advantage to either side 
as mentioned above. 

John C. Fremont had command of all the Federal 
forces in Missouri, with his headquarters in St. Louis. 
His utter incompetency and failure to reinforce the 
army in command of General Lyon was the cause of 
the disaster, if such it may be called, at Springfield. 
Had he moved the troops, then stationed at EoUa 
under the command of Colonel John D. Stevenson, to 
the aid of Lyon, an overwhelming victory would have 
resulted and possibly the life of Lyon saved. Fre- 
mont certainly was the most stupendous failure of 
the war. 

Stevenson came to St. Louis from Rolla to urge 
upon Fremont the importance of ordering his 
(Stevenson's) command to Springfield, but it was not 
until the second day after his arrival that he could 
get by the guards into Fremont's room. He received 



The Volcano Rumbles 93 

no encouragement whatever. The statement of this 
visit I learned from the lips of Stevenson himself. 
During all of this time a semblance of civil govern- 
ment was maintained. The courts in many parts of 
the State were kept open. Home Guards were 
voluntary military organizations enrolled into com- 
panies, electing their own officers and aiding as best 
they could government authority. 

In Pike County this organization was quite large, 
and was continually on duty, with its principal head- 
quarters at Louisiana. As heretofore stated, I was 
the State's Attorney, having been elected in Novem- 
ber, 1860, for a term of four years. In July of that 
year I addressed a letter to Aylett H. Buckner, the 
Judge of the Circuit Court, to ascertain whether he 
would hold the ensuing September term of court at 
Bowling Green. He answered as follows : 

Sir: 

I will hold the September Term of the 
Pike Circuit Court provided the illegal and 
imauthorized organization known as the 
Home Guard, is disbanded or put into the 
actual service of the Lincoln government. 
In no event will any civil case be tried. 

This letter shows where he stood, what he thought 
of the Home Guards, and what little respect he had 
for the Government of the United States. The term 
of court was not held and the Judge himself fled the 
country. 

John B. Henderson was appointed Brigadier- 
General of the militia, including the Home Guards, 
by Govenor Gamble. He was, therefore, in command 
of all the volunteer forces in the county. I was liv- 



94 Autobiography and Reminis cences 

ing at Bowling Green, the county seat, and was 
a Lieutenant in a company of Home Guards organized 
at that place with Jesse Hardin as Captain. Sub- 
sequently a regiment of "six months" men was 
organized in the county with Thomas J. C. Fagg as 
Colonel. Henderson was in command of this regi- 
ment as well as the other organizations that together 
made up a brigade. One company, known as ''Rice's 
Company," was a sort of artillery squad with one 
field-piece, an ancient iron cannon that was more 
effective for noise than anything else. There was 
also a company of engineers (?) under the command 
of a man by the name of Woods who at one time was 
County Surveyor. The rank and file had no uniform, 
but what they lacked in this respect was made up by 
the gorgeous trappings of its officers, of which I was 
one. It was a motley crowd of soldiers, but they 
were loyal to the Old Flag and "their hearts beat 



as one." 



The two senators from Missouri at Washington 
were Trusten Polk and Waldo P. Johnson. They 
were expelled from the Senate on account of dis- 
loyalty. John B. Henderson of Pike was appointed 
to one of the vacancies, Robert Wilson of Buchanan 
County to the other by Governor Gamble. 

The first company of troops that came to Pike 
County regularly enlisted and sworn into the service 
for three years, belonged to the 1st Illinois Cavalry. 
This was commanded by Captain John McNulta of 
Bloomington, Illinois. It stopped for a day or two 
in Bowling Green and while there McNulta was a 
guest at my house. This company proceeded through 
the State and became a part of the command that 



The Volcano Rumbles 95 

assembled at Lexington, Missouri, under the com- 
mand of Colonel Mulligan. The battle that shortly 
ensued between the Federal forces under Mulligan 
and the overwhelming rebel forces under Price, was 
a fierce one. It resulted in Colonel Mulligan's sur- 
render. 

In this battle my brother, John S. Dyer, was a 
soldier in the rebel army. The prisoners taken were 
finally exchanged, and McNulta organized a regiment 
of Infantry and became its Colonel. I never saw 
McNvilta from the time he was at my house in 1861 
until I met him near Mobile, Alabama, in March, 
1865, on the battle-field of Spanish Fort. He was 
the Colonel of an Illinois regiment and I was Colonel 
of a Missouri regiment. He belonged to a corps com- 
manded by General Gordon Granger, and I to the 
16th Corps commanded by General A. J. Smith. We 
met at the intersection of two roads. Neither of us 
knew of the presence of the other in the siege and 
battle. Both were elated, however, at the meeting 
and McNulta greeted me with great cordiality, say- 
ing, ''Dyer, I have a pistol in this (right) holster and 
a bottle of whiskey in the other (left). Which will 
you take?" I had no hesitancy in deciding. 

The Proceedings of the Convention generally 
covered the events that happened during its existence, 
that is, the changing phases of the times were fairly 
mirrored in its legislation. As before said, the mem- 
bership of this Convention was made up of very able 
men, those that would have adorned any legislative 
body in the world. No greater men than some of 
these composed the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives at Washington. Hamilton R. Gamble, James 



96 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

O. Broadhead, John B. Henderson, Willard P. Hall, 
William A. Hall, John F. Philips, Samuel M. Breck- 
enridge, Thomas T. Gantt and Robert M. Stewart 
were possibly the leaders of the Convention, but the 
body as a whole was composed of men of brains and 
courage. All of them have gone to their reward. 

The last one to go was the able lawyer, the gifted 
advocate and orator, the brave soldier, and the fear- 
less and independent Judge, John Finis Philips. He 
died in March, 1919, of pneumonia, at the residence 
of his old friend, Colonel Fordyce, at Hot Springs, 
Arkansas, after an illness of forty-eight hours. He 
was in St. Louis on the Saturday and Sunday before 
his death. On Saturday evening at the Planters 
Hotel he delivered an address before the **Pike 
County Colony in St. Louis." This was in itself a 
master oration. He was eighty-four years old at the 
time, and the greatness, statesmanship and glory of 
his old associates of the Convention that saved and 
held Missouri firmly to her moorings in the Union, 
were beautifully reflected in the kindly, gentle 
face and eloquent speech of him who was the last 
surviving member. Those of the present generation 
of men and women know but little of the debt they 
are under to him and his associates. If in a modest 
way some of their acts are recorded here, that they 
may be of benefit to those who are to come, then the 
labor of preparing them will not prove altogether 
worthless. 

Many ludicrous and amusing incidents occurred in 
Pike County in the early stages of the conflict. A 
few of these I have tried to remember. 

The only time during the war that an attempt was 



The Volcano Rumbles 97 

made at Louisiana to raise a rebel flag, occurred in 
May of 1861. Spence Norvelle, a Virginian by birth, 
kept a saloon on the corner of Water and Georgia 
streets. He was a noisy secessionist and concluded he 
would hoist a rebel flag in front of his saloon. He ran 
it up on a pole, and a large crowd of infuriated Union 
men gathered around it determined to pull it down. 
Norvelle, who spoke the Virginia vernacular well, 
said, *'You may tar my shirt, you may tar my har, 
but you can't tar that flag!'' At this juncture Bill 
Kingston hit him a blow under the burr of the ear 
that felled him to the ground. Further proceedings 
interested Spence no more. The flag was pulled 
down and destroyed, and no more attempts were ever 
made to raise a rebel flag in Pike County. 



An amusing incident occurred at Spencersburg, 
Pike County, in 1861. General Porter, a secessionist, 
had organized quite a force in Lewis County for the 
confederacy and a company was organized in the 
southern part of Pike County to join Porter's troops. 
About the same time two or three companies of 
Home Guards came in Camp at Louisiana. As 
neither the rebels nor Union forces had uniforms, 
there was nothing to designate the ''side" to which 
they belonged. 

Information came to the Home Guards that the 
rebel company commanded by Col. Dorsey would 
pass through Spencersburg early the next morning, 
so two companies made a night march from Louisiana 
to Spencersburg to intercept Dorsey and his force. 
At sunrise the Union men came to the residence of 
Judge Woodson (formerly a County Judge) on the 



98 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

outskirts of the town, who came to the door, looked 
carefully at the troops and mistaking them for 
Dorsey's rebel company, in a great voice said, 
''Hurrah for Jef£ Davis!" Lieutenant Sam Scotten 
said to him, ''Come out here, we are hunting for your 
kind." Woodson saw his mistake and said, appeal- 
ingly, "Bless my soul, gentlemen, I thought it was 
t'other side." 

Dorsey did not appear and so there was no con- 
flict at Spencersburg. 



William H. Biggs, now deceased, was at one time 
while I was a resident of Pike County, Missouri, a 
member of the law firm of Fagg, Dyer & Biggs. He 
was subsequently chosen Judge of the St. Louis Court 
of Appeals and for twelve years served with distinc- 
tion in that capacity. 

On one occasion I asked him for what reason he 
had gone into the confederate army. He said, "At 
the beginning of the war I was a boy residing with 
my father, George Biggs, on a farm about ten miles 
from the Mississippi river in Clark County, Missouri. 
Steamboats on the river carried mail, including the 
St. Louis papers. In May 1861, a neighbor of ours 
went to the river on business and stopped as he came 
back at our house. He was greatly excited and said 
to my father, 'George, what do you think old Lincoln 
has now done?' My father said he could not guess. 

'Why,' said he, 'the d d old rascal has 

suspended the writ of habeas corpus/ This 
greatly alarmed me and I went to the stables, bridled 
and saddled a mule and broke as hard as I could go 
for the southern army. I did not know what 'habeas 



The Volcano Rumbles 99 

corpus' was and I was looking for it to overtake me 
before I could get to a place of safety." Biggs said 
that lie was made a Sergeant of the company and a 
neighbor of his by the name of Guthrie, a Corporal. 
He said that he took orders from Guthrie for three 
months before he found out that a Corporal was in- 
ferior in rank to a Sergeant. 



Another incident that occurred in Louisiana at the 
breaking out of the war was, to those who knew the 
parties, very amusing. E. G. McQuie was an old 
and successful merchant and extended credit to al- 
most every one who asked it. He was a bitter and 
uncompromising secessionist, however, and had a 
great hatred for the Union men who had joined the 
Home Guards. 

During the preceeding winter he had given credit 
to an Irishman by the name of Pat Burns for a half 
dozen "hickory shirts." Burns at the time was cut- 
ting cord wood on Salt River bottom and shipping it 
to Louisiana on a flat boat. He was a very short man 
and did not at his best present a very fine appearance. 
He joined a company of Home Guards called the 
**Salt River Tigers" which was armed with "Bel- 
gium muskets." The gun that Burns had was longer 
than himself and with a fixed bayonet on the end of 
it, at least two feet long, made Burns a formidable- 
looking soldier. With the gun on his shoulder he 
walked by McQuie 's store. McQuie saw him coming 
and determined to humiliate him if he could. Said 
he, "Pat, hadn't you better pay for the hickory 
shirts I sold you?" Pat pointed the gun with the 
bayonet on the end toward McQuie and said, "You 



100 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

d d old rebel, if you ever mention hickory shirts 

to me again I will run this bayonet through you." 

This ended the controversy and Pat was not fur- 
ther disturbed. 



Calhoun County, Illinois, is carved out of that 
portion of the State that lies in the fork of two 
rivers, Illinois and Mississippi. The topography of 
the county is very broken, consisting of great hills 
and deep ravines. It fronts west on the Mississippi 
River and opposite the lower part of Pike and the 
upper part of Lincoln counties, Missouri. 

In 1861 the population of this section in a large 
measure consisted of an ignorant, uneducated class. 
The school-houses were scarce and the teachers em- 
ployed were fair representatives of the parents of 
the children they taught. The vehicles used were 
carts and sleds and the motive power was oxen. These 
were also used in drawing the plows, the mould 
boards of which were made of wood. The inhabit- 
ants boasted of the fact that not a mile of railroad or 
a yard of telegraph wire was in use in the county, 
and they also boasted of the fact that no negro was 
permitted to live there. This was the character of 
the population in 1861 when the Civil War broke out. 
They were bitterly opposed to ''old Abe Lincoln" 
and were in sympathy with the secessionists of 
Missouri. The topography of the county and the 
sympathy of its people made a safe refuge for the 
rebels of Missouri. This bit of history is necessary 
to fully appreciate the story I am going to tell about 
the ''Hare-lip man." 

A year or two prior to 1861 a man by the name of 



The Volcano Rumbles 101 

Williams settled in Calhoun County. He came there 
from the State of Michigan with a family, wife and 
three or four children. He was a Republican in 
politics while his neighbors were Democrats. He 
was greatly disfigured by a hare-lip but was a man of 
intelligence and keen discernment greatly appreciat- 
ing the ludicrous. He enjoyed a joke and perpe- 
trated many himself. The telling of stories by him, 
in a voice that was controlled by the hare-lip, was 
greatly enjoyed by all who listened. 

He was asked what induced him to come to Calhoun 
County to live. He said that he had entered land 
in Michigan and had made a comfortable home there ; 
that while on this farm he was approached and asked 
to subscribe money for the building of a railroad 
through that part of the State. He signed a contract 
to pay $250.00 when the road was built. The road 
was built but no demand had been made upon him 
for the money. Finally a man came to the place and 
demanded possession, showng the contract, a judg- 
ment, and deed from a Master in Chancery. He said 
that he was so outraged that he determined to leave 
Michigan and go to a county where a railroad could 
not be built, and so he came to Calhoun County. He 
said that among the things he brought to the county, 
was a four-wheeled buggy, the first that was ever 
seen in the county. In speaking of the inhabitants 
at the time, he said, ''They followed me for miles and 
miles, trying to see the hind wheels catch tip with the 
fore ivheels/' 

At the beginning of the Ci^dl War there lived at 
Bowling Green, Pike County, Missouri, a noisy seces- 
sionist by the name of John W. Buchanan. Buchanan 



102 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

went aboard a steamboat at Louisiana bound for St. 
Louis. On the way down the boat landed at Hamburg 
in Calhoun County. Here the Hare-lip man came 
aboard, and no sooner had he reached the clerk's desk 
before Buchanan accosted him. He asked him where 
he lived and what was the politics of the people. Mr. 
Hare-lip answered by saying, *'I live in Calhoun 
County, and if you had ever seen the people you 
never would have asked the question. They are 
Democrats, of course!" 

He turned upon Buchanan and said, "You fellows 
are like the man who was in a deep well and wanted 
to be drawn out. He got into the bucket and when 
about half way up, he cried out and said to the man 

at the windlass, *Draw faster or I will cut the d d 

rope!' " 

Later on many Missouri rebels took refuge in Cal- 
houn County. They were supposed to be a menace 
to the steam boats that were plying the river between 
St. Louis, Keokuk, and St. Paul. The boat officers 
were continually on the watch as they passed along 
its shore. 

John O. Roberts, who was one of the Avealthiest 
men in Pike County, recently died in Clarksville, 
Pike County, Missouri. In 1861 he was a clerk on 
one of the boats of the St. Louis and Keokuk Line. 
His berth or bed was mimediately under the clerk's 
desk in the office. He told a story of the Hare-lip 
man of Calhoun County that was very characteristic. 
On one of the trips up the river, the boat landed at 
Hamburg, Calhoun County, about midnight. Roberts 
was fast asleep under the desk. The Hare-lip man 
came aboard and proceeded to arouse the clerk by 



The Volcano Rumbles 103 

severely pounding on the desk with the handle of a 
long, sharp knife about two feet in length, made for 
use in cutting up corn in the field. Roberts rolled 
out of bed, thinking that the boat had been captured 
by the rebels, and with trembling and fear faced the 
Hare-lip man, who, in a voice that can not be imitated 
here, said, "I want to go to Hannibal, and will jow 
take this knife as security for my passage?" Robert 
said, '^ Certainly! certainly! Give me the knife!" 
The Hare-lip was a character in his way, and was 
always able to see the funny side. 

In the seventies vaj old friend, Henry V. P. Block, 
a well-to-do farmer of Pike County, who was 
president of the Louisiana and Missouri River Rail- 
road then under construction and now a part of the 
through line of the Chicago & Alton between Chicago 
and Kansas City, met the Hare-lip man while waiting 
for a train at Roodhouse. He accosted Block and 
wanted to know where he lived and whether he was 
not of Jewish descent. Block answered by saying, 
**I live in Louisiana, and am of Jewish descent, but 
what of that?" *^Well," said Hare-lip, ^4f I come 
to Louisiana what will you sell me a suit of cloUies 
for?" Block used to tell this story, and no one en- 
joyed it more than he. 

I do not know what became of the Hare-lip man, 
but Calhoun County of today is greatly different 
from that of 1861. Now the population is most in- 
telligent and the county itself is productive of great 
wealth. Barrels filled with the most delicious apples 
in the world are gathered and marketed each year, 
the old hills of the county are covered with the finest 
orchards and annually add to the wealth of its people. 



VII 

THE ERUPTION AND AFTER 

Partnership with Senator Henderson at Louisiana — 
Elected to the Legislature — Slavery and Anti- 
Slavery in Politics — I Organize the 49th Missouri 
Infantry — Commissioned Colonel — The Centralia 
Massacre — The Siege of Mobile — Lincoln Anecdote 
— Jefferson City and Reconstruction — Secretary of 
the State Senate — The Drake Constitution. 

In January, 1862, 1 removed from Bowling Green, 
the County Seat of Pike County, to Louisiana, the 
principal town of the county, and entered the law 
office of Honorable John B. Henderson, where I con- 
tinued in discharge of my duties as States Attorney 
and the general practice of law as well. In the fall 
of that year, I became a candidate for the Legislature, 
and was elected in November. 

The county was entitled to two representatives and 
my colleague was Benjamin P. Clifford, a well-to-do 
banlier of Louisiana. This legislature, among other 
duties, was to elect two United States senators to 
succeed Henderson and Wilson, who had been 
appointed by GoA^ernor Gamble to fill the vacancies 
occasioned by the removal of Polk and Johnson. The 
terms for which senators were to be chosen were six 
and four years, respectively. Cliiford and myself 
were warm friends and supporters of Henderson for 



The Eruption and After 105 

the long or six year term, but were not committed to 
any one for the short term. 

When the legislature met in the following winter, 
it was soon discovered that it was divided into three 
factions of nearly equal strength. One party was 
composed of those who favored the immediate 
emancipation of the slaves in the State. This faction 
was designated as *' Charcoals." Another party, of 
which Clifford and myself were members, was in 
favor of what was known as ''gradual compensated 
emancipation. ' ' This was known as the ' ' Claybank ' ' 
faction. The third party was composed of those who 
were opposed to emancipation in any form. This 
faction was known as the "Snowflake." Each of 
these parties had its candidate. B. Gratz Brown of 
St. Louis represented the "Charcoals," John B. Hen- 
derson of Pike the "Claybanks," and John S. 
Phelps of Green the ' ' Snowflakes. ' ' The contest was 
long and exciting and continued throughout the regu- 
lar session and well into the second before two 
senators were chosen. 

The legislature was composed of very competent 
men, and each party had able representatives. The 
most prominent perhaps of the Brown or "Char- 
coals" was George Smith of Caldwell; of the Hen- 
derson or "Claybanks", Senator George W. Ander- 
son of Pike; and of the Phelps or "Snowflakes", 
John Wilson of Platte. It was generally understood 
that Henderson was the strongest candidate for the 
long term, and could command enough votes to elect 
for that term. The real contest seemed to be over the 
four year term. The voting for each had to be done 
separately. 



106 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

This being the situation, the supporters of Brown 
and Phelps combined to elect for the short term first, 
and so supported a resolution to that effect. It was 
over the selection for this term that the contest waged. 
The friends of Henderson, that is, those who held 
control did not support at first either Brown or 
Phelps, but cast their votes for various other candi- 
dates, viz: Samuel T. Glover, James O. Broadhead, 
Samuel M. Breckenridge, and possibly one or two 
others. The deadlock was complete, and da}^ after 
day the legislature in joint session failed to elect. 
A few of Henderson's friends held the balance. 
They were Senator Anderson of Pike, Representa- 
tives Bittinger of Buchanan, Poepping of St. Louis, 
Wommack of Lincoln, Sitton of Gasconade, and 
Clifford and myself of Pike. A meeting of these 
seven men was held at eleven o'clock one night when 
they determined to break the deadlock by voting for 
B. Gratz Brown for the short term. This action was 
not known outside of its members. 

The next day when the roll was called, each and 
every one of the above voted for BrowTi, and he was 
duly elected for the short term. Immediately after 
the result was announced by Lieutenant Governor 
Hall, the presiding officer of the joint session, Smith 
of Caldwell, the leader of the Brown faction, 
nominated Henderson for the long term and he was 
elected by a good margin. 

Thus ended one of the most exciting and interest- 
ing contests that ever took place in the State Legis- 
lature which had an able and distinguished member- 
ship. The Lieutenant Governor and presiding 



The Eruption and After 107 

officer of the Senate was Willard P. Hall of 
Buchanan, and the Speaker of the House of Kepre- 
sentatives was Reverend M. Marvin of Henry County. 
John Wilson of Platte was an able lawyer. He was 
the father-in-law of Honorable E. H. Norton, who 
became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 
the State, and the father of O. H. P. Wilson, who 
afterwards became the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, and then a member of Congress. 
His grandson, Francis Wilson, was recently the 
United States Attorney for the Western District of 
Missouri. 

John Wilson's colleague was a man by the name of 
Wolff. The only failing that Wolff had was in 
drinking too much whiskey now and then, and getting 
on ''sprees" that lasted for several days. On one 
occasion he was absent, without leave, for some time 
and no one seemed to know where he was. Finally 
a report came that he had died quite suddenly in St. 
Joseph. The report was accepted as true and his 
colleague, Mr. Wilson, prepared resolutions of re- 
spect, etc., and introduced them in the House. The 
resolutions referred to the ability and worth of Mr. 
Wolff, and concluded by declaring that his death was 
a great loss to the State. In offering the resolutions, 
Mr. Wilson spoke most feelingly and eloquently of 
his friend, but just in the midst of the speech Wolff 
suddenly appeared at the door of the House. His 
presence was hailed with much delight and with 
vociferous applause. Mr. Wilson was greatly sur- 
prised and seemed quite nonplused. He looked at 
Wolff for a moment and then turning to the Speaker 



108 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

said, "Mr. Speaker, I withdraw all I have said about 

my colleague; he is a d d sight better man dead 

than he is alive.'' 

There was among the House membership two or 
three who were distinguished, not for learning and 
scholarship, but for possessing good ''horse sense." 
One of these was William Monks of Howell County. 
He formed a dislike for some reason or other to 
Charles P. Johnson, a member from the city of St. 
Louis. Johnson was a young man of great promise, 
afterwards becoming Lieutenant Governor of the 
State and its leading criminal lawyer. On one 
occasion he asked for a few days leave from the House 
to attend to some private business. Monks at once 
arose and said, *'Mr. Speaker, let him go. If he had 
made his desires known we could have spore him 
several days ago. " Monks was a great character and 
lived to be an old man, dying only a few years ago. 

During the winter of 1862 and the year 1863, there 
was comparative peace in the State. The Union 
forces had affairs well in hand and had driven the 
rebels out. Courts were quite regularly held and 
order was generally maintained, although the people 
suffered now and then from marauding parties, 
especially in the southern parts. 

The war continued with increased violence in other 
States and with varying success. In the early part 
of 1864, an additional and further call for troops was 
made from Washington. Missouri was required to 
furnish ten additional regiments of infantry to serve 
for one year. I was authorized to recruit and 
organize one of those regiments, thereafter known as 
the Forty-ninth Missouri Infantry. The head- 



The Eruption and After 109 

quarters of the organization was located at Warren- 
ton, Warren County. This place was within ten 
miles of the farm upon which my father settled in 
1841, the one where my boyhood days were spent. 
The recruiting was very rapid and in a marvelously 
short time the regiment was organized. The re- 
cruits came mostly from my Congressional District, 
the Ninth, only one company coming from another 
locality. 

Company A was commanded by Captain William 
Colbert; Company B by Captain Norman Porter; 
Company C by Captain John F. Dierker; Company 
D by Captain George Smith ; Company E by Captain 
John E. Ball; Company F by Captain Abraham 
Kempinsky ; Company G by Captain Joseph Humph- 
rey ; Company H by Captain Jesse M. Gentry ; Com- 
pany I by Captain Louis Benecke and Company K 
by Captain Fred Grabenhorst. Nearly a full com- 
pany was made up of boys who had gone to school to 
me in Lincoln and Warren counties. The officers 
and privates of this regiment were men of the highest 
character, and came from greatly respected families. 
Today not a single one of the above named captains 
is alive. Each of the companies had a first and 
second lieutenant ; of the total number of lieutenants, 
only one survives. Second Lieutenant John J. Spencer 
of Company H. Nearly all, with a very few ex- 
ceptions, of the privates are dead also. In the nature 
of things, it will not be long before the last survivor 
will join his comrades in the world beyond the clouds. 

After the organization of the regiment, I was com- 
missioned Colonel, Edwin Smart, Lieutenant Colonel, 
and Israel W. Stewart, Major. W. E. Hardin was 



110 Autohiography and Beminiscences 

the First Adjutant. He retired on account of dis- 
ability and was succeeded by William Lansdown. 
William D. Bush was the Quartermaster ; he recently 
died at the age of ninety-four years. The companies 
were stationed in various counties of the State to 
preserve order and to protect the loyal people from 
attacks by various organizations of the enemy, then 
threatening further trouble, in co-operation with the 
invasion of the State by a large body of Confederate 
troops under the command of Major General Ster- 
ling Price. 

A band of organized '^ guerrillas" under the com- 
mand of a desperado named Bill Anderson, terrorized 
a great portion of North Missouri and committed 
some of the most fiendish crimes ever perpetrated 
by man — more fiendish than any ever committed 
by savage Indians. His raids extended as far east 
in North Missouri as Danville, the county seat of 
Montgomery County, where he burned the court 
house and other buildings and murdered in cold 
blood old and peaceable citizens. 

At Centralia, in Boone County, he and his band 
captured a passenger train going north on the North 
Missouri, now the Wabash Railroad, and took there- 
from many invalid federal soldiers on their way to 
homes in the north to recuperate, and killed them in 
the most brutal and fiendish way possible. Some of 
them were struck do^^Ti on the railroad track and 
the engineer forced to drive his engine over their 
prostrate bodies. This occurred in the afternoon of 
the 24th day of September, 1864. 

Two companies of my regiment were stationed at 
Mexico, Missouri, some fifteen miles east of Centralia. 



The Eruption and After 111 

I was in St. Charles that evening and about dark 
learned of the massacre. Through the aid of Isaac 
H. Sturgeon, the president of the North Missouri 
Railroad, I was furnished an engine with an engineer 
and fireman. Starting late at night on this engine 
I reached Mexico about daylight. In addition to the 
excitement caused by the war of bullets, there was 
intense feeling among the people growing out of the 
contest between Mr. Lincoln and General McClellan 
for the Presidency. The day of my arrival in 
Mexico was fixed as the ^' great rally day" for the 
supporters of McClellan, most of whom were in 
sympathy with the south. Here I met the Honor- 
able James S. Rollins, who had come by stage from 
Columbia to Mexico via Centralia. The stage was 
stopped and searched by the Anderson band and 
Major Rollins, although a Union man, was permitted 
to pass on his plea (false, of course) that he was a 
preacher of the gospel. 

Rollins told me in detail of the slaughter of the 
Union soldiers at Centralia, but entreated me not to 
allow my soldiers (who were then going into two box 
cars to be taken to Centralia) to burn the town as 
the citizens there were in no way responsible. I gave 
him assurance that his request would be complied 
with as far as it was in my power. With an engine 
and two box cars I started with Company C, Captain 
John F. Dierker, to recover the bodies of the slain 
invalid soldiers. The men were in the cars properly 
armed and I took my place in the cab of the engine. 

We had not gone more than seven or eight miles 
when the engineer discovered a woman standing on 
the track some distance ahead, and frantically wav- 



112 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

ing her apron as a signal to stop. I ordered the 
engine stopped and the woman said to me, **For God's 
sake, don't go any further, Anderson's gang has killed 
Major Johnston and all of his men." 

I did not believe the story and so went on to 
Centralia. There I found but one man to approach 
me ; his name was Singleton. He told me that after 
the slaughter of the invalid soldiers, Major Johnston 
with a company of State Militia had come to 
Centralia in pursuit of Anderson and his band. 
Johnston's command was mounted on unbroken 
horses taken from the farmers in Ralls and Monroe 
counties, some of them being mares with colts follow- 
ing them. Johnston pursued the marauders beyond 
the village of Centralia and found them gathered in 
a line near a wood. Here they stood until Johnston 
and his company delivered a fire that at once put his 
horses in a panic. Seeing the confused line and be- 
fore the men could reload their muskets, the Ander- 
son gang charged and killed every one except two of 
Johnston's command, who happened to be mounted 
on fast horses and thus escaped. After slaying 
Johnston and his men, the fiends mutilated the bodies 
in a way most horrible to relate. 

Learning from Singleton the facts I have above 
described, I did not with the small force at my com- 
mand attempt to follow the enemy on foot. I took the 
murdered soldiers in Centralia to Mexico, where they 
w^ere buried in one long ditch. The bodies of John- 
ston's troops were buried by the Ninth Cavalry. 

The rebels retreated south and crossed the Missouri 
River, from whence they made their way to the 
forces commanded by General Price, then invad- 



The Eruption and After 113 

ing the State through the southeastern portion. 
These forces were practically unresisted until they 
reached Pilot Knob, where the Federals under 
the command of Ewing and Fletcher gave battle. 
The Confederates under Price and Marmaduke 
greatly outnumbered the Union men and compelled 
the retreat of the latter. The invaders did not come 
nearer St. Louis but went in the direction of Jeffer- 
son City. In the meantime, all available federal 
troops in the State, including my regiment, were 
hurried forward to Jefferson City to protect and save 
the Capital. These troops came from various sec- 
tions and comprised a regiment under the command 
of Colonel John F. Philips, others under General 
John B. Sanborn, and still others under the command 
of General E. B. Brown, General John McNeil, 
Colonel Joseph J. Gravelly, and Colonel B. F. Lazear. 

The confederates crossed Mauro Creek some three 
or four miles south of the Capital, deployed skir- 
mishers, and marched in force toward the city. Here 
the number of federal troops seemed to deter them 
from a serious assault. Instead, they avoided the 
city and retreated, beating their way west in the 
direction of Kansas City. They were followed vigor- 
ously by the Federal Cavalry and engaged from time 
to time on their retreat from the State into Arkansas, 
the Federal Infantry also being used in repairing 
bridges, rebuilding railroads, etc. 

After the failure of Price's invasion, comparative 
order and quiet Avas restored throughout the State. 

The re-election of Mr. Lincoln as President and the 
election of Thomas C. Fletcher as Governor of 
Missouri, took place in November. General Grant 



114 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

was pushing with energy the forces under General 
Lee in Virginia, and the western armies with renewed 
vigor were making their way down through Ten- 
nessee, Alabama and Georgia. While away from 
home in command of my regiment, the republicans 
of Pike County at the November election re-elected 
me as a member of the State Legislature. My 
colleague from that County was Doctor Stephen J. 
Reynolds of Bowling Green. When the legislature 
met, I obtained a furlough and for a time attended 
its sessions. Thomas C. Fletcher was duly inaugu- 
rated as Governor. 

In January 1865, I received orders to take my 
regiment south and to report at New Orleans to 
General E. R. S. Canby. I went aboard the steamer 
** Diana" at St. Louis, and after a week's time reached 
my destination and reported. My regiment was 
then assigned to the Sixteenth Armj^ Corps com- 
manded by General A. J. Smith. 

After remaining in and about New Orleans for ten 
days, I was ordered to go aboard a steamboat named 
the ** Laurel Hill" and proceed to the entrance 
of Mobile Bay. Here in good time I arrived at Fort 
Gaines. Further preparation was there made for an 
advance upon the city of Mobile. The army com- 
posed of the Sixteenth Corps under command of 
General Smith, the Thirteenth Corps under General 
Gordon Granger, the Ninth under General Steel 
(this corps being composed of colored troops), and 
all under the command of Major General E. R. S. 
Canby, proceeded to invest Spanish Fort and Fort 
Blakely on the east side of Mobile Bay. These two 
forts comprised the main defenses of the city. The 



The Ertiption and After 115 

siege was made on the twenty-seventh day of March, 
1865. After a bombardment and battle that lasted 
for several days, Spanish Fort was evacuated, and 
two days later the garrison at Blakely surrendered. 

Among the prisoners taken at Blakely were many 
Missourians, notably General Francis M. Cockrell, 
afterwards a Senator of the State, Colonel Gates, 
later State Treasurer of Missouri; Colonel Thomas 
C. Carter, an old neighbor of mine in Lincoln County ; 
George Walker, an old acquaintance of St. Charles 
County, and others. 

The city of Mobile surrendered to federal control 
and was occupied by a part of the Thirteenth Corps. 

The Sixteenth Corps (General Smith) was ordered 
to proceed overland to the city of Montgomery, the 
capital of Alabama and the first capital of the Con- 
federacy. Steel's corps went on boats up the Ala- 
bama River to Montgomery. At Greenville, we first 
had news of the surrender at Appomatox Court 
House of the Armj" of General Lee to General Grant. 
Shortly after this we learned of the assassination of 
President Lincoln. 

On the march from Mobile to Montgomery, I was 
taken quite ill with malaria fever and it was some 
time before I was able to avail myself of a sick leave 
and return to Missouri. I left Montgomery on a 
steamboat and went down the Alabama to Mobile, 
from which point I went to New Orleans and took 
the steamer '' Mississippi" for St. Louis. After re- 
maining at home for a month I returned to Mont- 
gomery^ and received orders to take my regiment to 
Vicksburg to be mustered out. This was in the latter 
half of July. At the same time, Colonel Sam Holmes 



116 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

commanding another Missouri regiment, received a 
similar order. It then became a race as to which 
should get home first. 

The facilities for getting across the country to 
Vicksburg were very poor, but such as they were I 
succeeded in moving ahead of Holmes. From the 
Big Black into Vicksburg I went in advance of my 
regiment. Here I found General Henry W. Slocmn 
in command. I asked him to change my order and let 
me proceed to St. Louis for muster out. This he 
granted and I at once applied to the Quartermaster 
for transportation on the river. When I reached the 
office of the Quartermaster it was quite late at night, 
but I found the Chief Clerk in charge. This man's 
name was Kretchmar. 

He was a son of Christian Kretchmar, who had been 
clerk of the Criminal Court at St. Louis for several 
years. When he found out who I was he seemed to 
be greatly pleased, and said he would give me the 
first boat up the river. He spoke of what he termed 
a great favor shown his father when I was a member 
of the legislature. This had reference to a bill re- 
ported by me for the relief of his father as clerk in 
some matter that had escaped my memor}^ How- 
ever, I got the order and went to a hotel for the rest 
of the night. The next morning about ten o'clock 
the smoke from the steamer "Henry Von Phul" was 
seen, and shortly after the boat landed at Vicksburg. 
About this time a train, running between the Bic; 
Black and Vicksburg, came in with my regiment 
aboard. It took but a little while to change from 
train to boat and by noon we were well under way. 



The Eruption and After 117 

We left Holmes and his regiment far in the rear and 
reached St. Louis a week in advance. 

Here we were mustered out of the service on the 
fifth of August. All were glad to get home and the 
only regret expressed was for the seventy comrades 
that were left asleep in the soil of Alabama. 

I returned to my home in Louisiana and again re- 
sumed the practice of law. 

In all the undertakings of life there is a sad side 
and a happy one. Fortunate indeed is the man who 
can appreciate a good story and laugh at its telling. 
Shortly before the death of Mr. Lincoln at the hands 
of an assassin, my friends, Senator Henderson and 
Eepresentative Robert T. Van Horn of Jackson 
County, called at the White House and talked with 
him. In the course of the conversation Senator 
Henderson (as I was told) said, "Mr. President, now 
that the war is about over and no further prospect of 
serious fighting, Mr. Van Horn and I came to ask you 
to appoint a young Missouri Colonel, now serving 
in Alabama, a Brigadier General; this Colonel is 
David Patterson Dyer." Mr. Lincoln made some in- 
quires about me and then said, ''The name of Dyer 
reminds me of an incident that happened in the State 
of Illinois when the first railroads were being built. 
One of these roads ran though a tract of land owned 
by a man named Dyer. It was decided to locate a 
depot on the land and to map out a town. The first 
question that came up was to find a name for the 
town. Various suggestions were made as to name 
but none seemed to suit until it was finally with much 
unanimity, agreed to call the town 'Diarrhea."* 



118 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

This was as near as I came to being a Brigadier 
General. When Mr. Henderson told me what had 
taken place, I said, "The story is worth more than a 



commission.'^ 



The legislature met in an adjourned session at 
Jefferson City, in December 1865, and continued in 
session until March 1866, when I resumed my seat 
as a representative from Pike County. Thomas C. 
Fletcher was the Governor, George Smith of Cald- 
well County the Lieutenant Governor and President 
of the Senate. 

Governor and Mrs. Fletcher entertained most 
liberally. The Mansion was the mecca for the young 
and old at the Capitol. His immediate family con- 
sisted of Mrs. Fletcher, Miss Honey (Mrs. Fletcher's 
maiden sister), a young son named Edward and a 
daughter Ella. Miss Ella was about fifteen years old 
and a most beautiful girl. She had a young friend 
about her age, Miss Julia Vogdes, a daughter of 
Major and Mrs. A. S. Vogdes. Major Vogdes was 
employed in the Adjutant General's office. These 
two were inseparable friends and were constantly to- 
gether at the Governor's Mansion. They were sweet, 
beautiful girls and were loved and admired by all 
who came in contact with them. 

Frequent balls were given at the Mansion and not 
only members of the legislature and other officers 
with their wives attended, but the best men and women 
of the City of Jefferson and other localities were most 
frequently present. The young women made a 
charming group and would compare favorably with 
the most beautiful in the State. Two sisters, Misses 
Fannie and Tessie Lathrop of Colmnbia, Missouri, 



The Eruption and After 119 

daughters of President Lathrop of the State Univer- 
sity, were frequent guests of Governor and Mrs. 
Fletcher and were greatly admired. These two 
women are sisters of Mr. Gardner Lathrop, at present 
the distinguished solicitor of the Santa Fe Railroad 
with headquarters in Chicago. Miss Fannie married 
a son of Governor Smith and Miss Tessie married 
Professor Ripley of the State University. Miss 
Ella Fletcher several years later married Perry 
Bartholow, and Miss Julia Vogdes married George D. 
Reynolds, Esq., who for many years served with great 
distinction on the bench of the St. Louis Court of 
Appeals. He died recently while in that service. 

In addition to these young women there were many 
more who attended the balls at the Mansion — 
notably Miss MoUie Siebert, a niece of Mrs. Thomas 
L. Price, Miss Gussie Thompson of St. Louis, the 
Misses Bolton, Lansdown, McCarty, and other resi- 
dents of Jefferson City. Although these gatherings 
were in the very shadow of the civil strife that had 
waged in the State for four long years, they went far 
toward removing and obliterating the passions and 
animosities of the period and served to give hope for 
the then not promising future. 

Not until the last man who figured in State affairs 
at that time is dead, will the warmth and hospitality 
of the old McCarty Hotel kept by Burr McCarty, a 
southern sympathizer, be forgotten. It was the 
home of Broadhead, Vest, Philips, Brown, Sturgeon, 
Orrick, Bittinger, Van Horn, Craig, Rhea, Ridgely, 
Anderson, Thompson, Kayser, myself and others, 
when we had occasion to visit the State Capital. Of 
all those men named I am the only one that survives. 



120 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

If it were possible to give the happenings at that old 
hotel, the stories told, the reminiscences recited, the 
sharp repartee, the dances, and the games indulged 
in, these would make an interesting volume. It can 
not be possible — at least, let us so hope — that these 
old friends shall not meet and know each other in the 
great hereafter. 

The State Constitution, formulated and adopted 
in 1865 and popularly known as the "Drake Con- 
stitution,'' became the subject of bitter and 
acrimonious discussion throughout the State during 
the sunnner and fall of 1866. The provisions that 
attracted the most debate and against which the 
severest criticisms were leveled, were those pre- 
scribing the qualification of voters, lawyers and 
ministers of the gospel. These provisions, contained 
in Section III of the Drake constitution, became not 
only the subject of bitter denunciation by public 
speakers but also the basis for court proceedings. 
All of these wxre attacked on the ground that they 
were in conflict with provisions of the Federal Con- 
stitution and therefore unconstitutional and void. 
The contentions were in part upheld, especially those 
relating to ministers of the gospel and lawyers. The 
provision presenting the qualification of voters was 
upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. 
That is, the decision of the State Court upholding 
that provision was affirmed by the Supreme Court of 
the United States in an opinion where the Justices 
were evenly divided. 

In November of that year, I was again a candidate 
for the State Legislature from the County of Pike 
but was defeated by Thomas J. Forgey. When the 



TJie Eruption and After 121 

legislature met in the following December, I was 
chosen Secretary of the State Senate. In this 
capacity I served during the winters of 1866-7 and 
1867-8. Sessions were held each year. 

One provision in the Constitution of 1865 vacated 
certain offices in the State and authorized the Gover- 
nor (Governor Fletcher, a republican) to fill the 
vacancies. This provision was severely attacked also 
and had the effect of alienating many republicans 
in the State. The Governor removed many judges 
of the Supreme and Circuit Courts who had been 
elected in 1864. The judges so removed were demo- 
crats (so-called) w^ho had supported McClellan 
against Lincoln in 1864 for the presidency. Honor- 
able Thomas J. C. Fagg of Pike County, a republi- 
can, was elected Judge of the Pike Circuit embracing 
Pike, Lincoln, Warren and Montgomery. 

Honorable Gilchrist Porter of Hannibal, Marion 
County, was chosen Judge of that Circuit without 
opposition, at the same election. He had supported 
McClellan against Lincoln. He always professed 
to be a Union man, but had opposed the emancipation 
of slaves. He was removed and John I. Campbell 
of Hannibal, was appointed in his place. After this 
the Governor promoted Judge Fagg to the Supreme 
Court of the State. This, of course, left a vacancy 
to be filled in the Pike Circuit. Porter at one time 
resided in Pike County, and in 1852 and 1854 repre- 
sented the district in Congress. I knew him well. 
He was not only a good lawyer and a good judge, but 
absolutely clean and upright as a citizen. 

The day after Judge Fagg was appointed to the 
Supreme Court, I received a letter from Judge Por- 



122 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

ter (I was then in Jefferson City) saying that he 
would be glad to accept the Judgeship of the Pike 
Circuit made vacant by the promotion of Judge Fagg. 
Upon receipt of the letter, I at once went to the of&ce 
of the Governor and asked him to appoint Judge Por- 
ter to the vacancy. After some little hesitation upon 
his part, he ordered the Secretary of State to issue a 
commission in accordance with my request. I had 
the great pleasure of sending the commission by re- 
turn man. He served that judicial district for more 
than twenty years, successively elected three times 
without opposition. 

In the Senate of which I was secretary, there were 
many very able men ; William P. Harrison of Marion, 
W. B. Adams of Montgomery, Frederick Muench of 
Warren, John B. Clark, sen., of Dadel, Samuel W. 
Headlee of Green, John S. Ca vender of St. Louis, 
Filler of Lawrence, Reed of Randolph, Ridgely and 
Rhea of St. Louis, and others. Many important laws 
were enacted during the two sessions of that legisla- 
ture. 

Filler of Lawrence was much interested in the 
passage of a bill that he had introduced, prohibiting 
the driving of Texas cattle through the State. He 
claimed that the *' Texas fever" was communicated to 
local herds by those coming into the State from Texas. 
Section three of the bill provided that it should be 
the duty of the sheriff to notify the owners of the 
Texas cattle to take them back out of the State over 
the road that they had been travelled. If the owner 
refused to obey the sheriff was to smnmon a posse 
and kill the cattle, etc. The bill was being considered 



The Eruption and After 123 

section by section ; the third section was agreed to and 
the remaining parts were taken up in their order. 

Senator Adams of Montgomery, who was the re- 
cognized wag of the Senate, arose when the fifth 
section was being considered and offered an amend- 
ment to the third section, saying it was only done to 
perfect the sense of the same. His amendment was 
*' insert after the word cattle in the last line, the words 
and drivers.^ ^ Filler, a slow plodding senator, 
accepted the amendment. The secretary was then 
asked to read the section as amended, when he read, 
'*It shall be the duty of the posse to kill the cattle and 
the drivers/' Great hilarity was indulged in at the 
expense of Senator Filler. It was some tune before 
the tangle could be straightened out. 

It was during the winter of 1866 and 1867 that 
the first appropriation by the State to the University 
was made. 



VIII 

STATE AND NATIONAL AFFAIRS 

Higher Education in Missouri — Major Rollins and 
The State University — Price-McGlurg Anecdote — 
Elected to the 41st Congress — My Appointees to The 
U. S. Military Academy and to Annapolis — Mis- 
souri's First Railroad — ^^Liberalizing'' the State 

Constitution 

1 have alluded elsewhere to the limited facilities 
offered and the meager opportunities furnished the 
children of my day in the State for even an ordinary 
education. The best that could then be expected was 
** reading, writing and arithmetic'^ and the child was 
fortunate to get even these. The State had failed to 
provide a fund of any consequence for the support of 
public schools, and the small salaries paid the teachers 
enabled these to be opened for about three months in 
the year only. The months utilized were most 
generally the winter ones, the rest of the year the 
younger children being kept idle and the older ones 
made to work on farms. 

The first step taken by the State legislature look- 
ing to the establishing of a University was on the 11th 
of March, 1839 (the year after I was born), but actual 
instruction in the Academic Department of the Uni- 
versity, commonly called "The State University," did 



state and National Affairs 125 

not begin until April 1841, the year my father came to 
the State. To the Academic Department has since 
been added Normal 1867, College of Agriculture and 
Mechanic Arts and School of Mines 1870, Law 1872, 
Medical 1873, Engineering 1877, Graduate School 
1896. For these facts I am indebted to the work of 
Professor Snow. 

Lands for the support of a seminary, or seminaries, 
of learning were granted by Congress and these lands 
were sold for $78,000. I quote from Professor Snow : 
"When the question of location arose in 1839, the 
citizens of Boone County offered $117,000 to have the 
University in Columbia." Out of this money was 
erected the first building, of which the corner stone 
was laid July 4th, 1841. No recognition of the Uni- 
versity was made in the State Constitution of 1865 — 
this because of the hostility of members of that com- 
vention, headed by Drake, to Boone County on 
account of the opposition of a majority of its citizens 
toward the National Government in the war of the 
rebellion. 

Short-sighted action in that regard, coupled with 
many severe proscriptive features contained in the 
instrmnent itself, were the causes that led to the 
political revolution in the State in 1870. The State 
had never up to 1867, made any direct appropriation 
of money to the support of the University. 

In the election in November 1866, I was an un- 
successful candidate for the legislature in the County 
of Pike. However, when the legislature met in 
December of that year, I was elected Secretary of the 
State Senate, the duties of which required my con- 
stant attendance at the State Capital during sessions 



126 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

of the legislature. In that year, 1866, the much be- 
loved President Lathrop died. He was succeeded by 
Daniel Reed of Wisconsin University. At that time 
the certain income of the Missouri University from 
all sources was very small, not exceeding seven thou- 
sand dollars. 

During the 1866-7 session of the legislature it was 
visited by President Reed. He was accompanied by 
Honorable James S. Rollins, the father of the Univer- 
sity and its most faithful friend. They came to ask 
the legislature to make an appropriation for the sup- 
port of the University. The membership of the 
Senate and House was largely republican and the 
feeling against Boone County, on account of the 
hostility of a large majority of its people to the 
Federal Government in the Civil War, was consider- 
able. To get a bill through the two houses making 
an appropriation for the University while this feel- 
ing of hostility existed, was of course very great. 
President Reed was a republican as had been his pre- 
decessor, the lamented Lathrop. Rollins had been a 
Union man all through the years of the Civil War 
but had not affiliated with the republican party and 
had opposed the adoption of what was called *'the 
Drake Constitution." 

A joint session of the two houses convened in the 
House one evening to hear Major Rollins and 
President Reed upon the proposed appropriation. 
The presentation by Major Rollins was forceful and 
beautifully eloquent, but it did not seem to touch or 
remove the existing prejudice against Boone County. 
The appearance of President Reed was most impres- 
sive. He w^as a man about seventy years of age, six 



state and National Affairs 127 

feet three or four inches in height, and looked for 
all the world like a strong, rugged and determined 
western farmer. He began his address in a manner 
that at once attracted the attention of all. What he 
said left a lasting impression upon me and I think 
upon all who heard him. Knowing as he did the feel- 
ing that existed on account of the war, he began by 
saying in substance the following, '*I came here in 
the interest of education, in the interest of your Uni- 
versity at Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, w^here 
I at present reside. I am aware of the prejudice that 
exists among you against the people of Boone County, 
growing out of the recent Avar, a war that has so 
gloriously ended in the preservation of the Union. 

''I stand before you this evening, a branchless 
trunk, without a sprig or green leaf to adorn it. I 
had a son, upon whom I expected to lean in my old 
age for support and comfort, but I gave him with all 
my heart to the service of the country to assist in 
keeping in the sky the flag of our fathers. He was 
a gallant boy and rode with Sheridan through the 
valleys and over the mountains of Virginia until he 
lost his life while fighting before Richmond. I have 
a rigM to speak to you, you his friends and comrades, 
and I beg your attention while I raise my voice in be- 
half of liberal education in the State that suffered as 
much as any other during the war." 

These words were electrical and won the fight for 
the University. The State had up to that time never 
made an appropriation for the University. Ten 
thousand dollars opened the way for larger amoimts 
later on. 

Today the State University is one of which every 



128 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Missourian feels proud and the faithful services of 
Lathrop, Reed and Rollins in the interest of a better 
and higher education should be forever gratefully re- 
membered by the people. During my life time the 
educational developments in the State have been slow 
but great and wonderful. In 1841, when my father 
came to Missouri, the State had done but little toward 
building up the public school system. Today we 
point with pride to the common schools and to the 
magnificent school fund that is distributed annually 
among the counties and cities of the State, to the 
splendid normal schools at Kirksville, Warrensburg 
and Cape Girardeau, and to the University at Colum- 
bia. 

Thus far I have mentioned only the schools fostered 
by the State. With pride and approval we point 
also to Washington and St. Louis Universities and 
other colleges and seminaries of learning that are 
supported and sustained by church and voluntary 
contributions. It is hard for the present generation 
to understand or realize what difficulties the youth 
encountered seventy-five years ago in order to get an 
education. The opportunities now are great and no 
child should be permitted to grow up without attend- 
ing school. Laws of a compulsory character should 
be enacted in every State of the Union requiring 
parents to send their children to school. Heavy penal- 
ties should be imposed for failure or neglect to do so. 
If the parents are illiterate they should not be per- 
mitted to fasten that illiteracy upon their offspring 
for the peace, good order and happiness of the people 
are dependent upon their education and intelligence. 

The social features at the State Capital were much 



state and National Affairs 129 

the same during the winters that I was Secretary 
as those of the winters when I was a member of the 
House. After the adjournment of the legislature in 
the spring of 1868, I returned to my home in 
Louisiana, and took up again the practice of law. 
In August, at Montgomery City, I was nominated by 
a republican convention for a seat in the Forty-first 
Congress. 

At the election in Missouri in November, 1868, the 
democratic candidate for Governor was General 
Thomas L. Price, a tall finely proportioned man, and 
the republican candidate was Joseph W. McClurg, a 
man very short and physically insignificant in 
appearance. 

Kentuckians are a very proud people and are al- 
ways boastful of the blooded stock that is raised in 
the blue grass region of that State, and of the fact 
that they come from the home of the ''Mill-boy" 
Henry Clay. 

McClurg, to the great mortification and chagrin of 
his opponent was elected Governor of the State. 

Price when asked how he felt about the election 
said, "Very much like the old Kentucky farmer who, 
in great physical agony, was about to die. While 
rolling from one side of the bed to the other and call- 
ing loudly on his Maker, the family minister came in 
to the room and said to him, in a soothing tone, 
'Don't be afraid, Brother, you will find on the other 
side a friendly hand that will guide you safely to a 
place of peaceful rest. ' 

" 'H — V said the sick man, *I am not afraid to die, 
but it is the cause of my death that troubles me. If 
I had been gored by a fine Kentucky bull or kicked by 



130 A utobiography and Reminiscences 

a blooded Kentucky horse, I would not mind, but to 

be butted to death by a d d little billy goat is more 

than I can stand!' " 

Political excitement never ran higher in the State 
of Missouri than it did in the year 1868. I was a 
delegate from the Ninth District to the National Re- 
publican Convention at Chicago. That convention 
nominated U. S. Grant for President and Schuj^ler 
Colfax of Indiana for Vice-President. The Demo- 
cratic National Convention nominated Seymour of 
New York for President, and Frank P. Blair, jun., of 
Missouri for Vice-President. 

The republicans of Missouri nominated Joseph W. 
McClurg for Governor, and the democrats named 
Thomas L. Price. Erastus Wells of St. Louis was 
the democratic candidate for Congress in one of the 
two St. Louis districts, and C. A. Newcombe was the 
republican candidate in the other. Both were elected. 
John F. Benjamin, Samuel S. Burdette, both re- 
publicans, were elected from other districts. I was 
nominated over the Honorable George W. Anderson 
by the republicans in the Ninth District. William F. 
Switzler of Boone County was my opponent. 

The contest in the State was very bitter, made so 
particularly by the restrictive and disfranchising 
provisions of the Constitution. The fact that General 
Blair was on the National Democratic ticket for Vice- 
President, made the contest particularly interesting. 
He had been the leader in Missouri of the Union 
forces during the Civil War, and probably did more 
than any other man to hold the State to its moorings 
in the Union. In 1868 he espoused the cause of the 
disfranchised rebels in Missouri and waged a fierce 



state and National Affairs 131 

and unflagging war in their behalf. His well known 
ability and courage gave to the opposition its greatest 
support and to the republicans their greatest concern. 

In the Ninth District, the contest between Colonel 
Switzler and myself for Congress was hard fought. 
The disfranchising clauses of the constititution were 
the chief questions of dispute. I was declared elected 
by a majority of the qualified voters of the district 
and a certificate of election was duly issued by the 
Secretary of State to me. My seat in Congress was 
contested without avail, by Colonel Switzler, as the 
House decided in my favor. I entered the Forty- 
first Congress as a member from the Ninth District 
of Missouri in March 1869, a called session. 

Grant was elected President; Colfax made Vice- 
President of the United States ; McClurg was at the 
same election made Governor of Missouri. I was 
present on the fourth of March, 1869, in Washington 
and witnessed the inauguration. 

I voted for Honorable James G. Blaine for 
Speaker of the House for the Forty-first Congress. 
This position had been held by Colfax. His election 
as Vice-President took him to the Senate. I doubt 
if any greater or abler men ever sat in the Lower 
House of Congress than sat in the Forty-first. James 
G. Blaine of Maine, James A. Garfield of Ohio, Thad- 
deus Stevens of Pennsylvania, John A. Bingham of 
Ohio, Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts, John A. 
Logan of Illinois, Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, 
Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, WiUiam B. Alli- 
son of Iowa, Thomas W. Ferry of Michigan, Robert C. 
Schenck of Ohio, Fernando Wood of New York, Luke 
Poland of Vermont, Samuel Randall of Pennsyl- 



132 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

vania, Erastus Wells, Jno F. Benjamin and S. S. 
Burdett of Missouri were some of the strongest men 
in the body. 

In 1919 1 was in Washington and visited the House 
of Representatives. Congress was then in session, 
but not a single member of the Forty-first Congress 
was there. They had all, except myself, crossed the 
line that divides this from the next world. I saw and 
talked with Honorable Joe Cannon, ''Uncle Joe," 
and found that he was about two years my senior. 
He entered the Forty-second Congress as a member 
and is probably the only one of that Congress living. 

An incident occurred during my visit that should 
not be overlooked. I went over the names of the 
Forty-first Congress with the hope of finding some- 
one of them still alive. Witcher, of West Virginia, 
was a young man about my age and a member of that 
Congress. I knew that President Grant had ap- 
pointed him soon after he left Congress, a paymaster 
in the regular army. I had not heard of him in 
many years but thought that he might be living. The 
next day I visited the Arlington Cemetery where a 
brother of my wife. Colonel Levi P. Hunt, is buried 
and there, in my stroll through the grounds, came 
across a slab on the side of a walk containing the 
names of Major Witcher and his wife. 

From all that I can learn, I am the only surviving 
member of that Congress. All of the senators at 
that time serving, with one exception, are also dead. 
This burrowing into the dead past is of little interest 
to the present generation, but it serves to keep fresh 
in my own life the memories of more than a half 
century. 



state and National Affairs 133 

The name of the congressman from the district in 
which I was born in the State of Virginia was Booker. 
He lived in Henry County, the place of my birth, and 
had been well acquainted with my father. He was 
anxious to have me visit him at his home, and I 
promised to do so upon the adjournment of Congress. 
This I was prevented from doing by the serious ill- 
ness of one of my children. Shortly afterwards my 
brother John (older than I) made a visit to Henry 
County. I met him after he had returned to Missouri 
and he censured me for not keeping my promise to 
Booker. He said I had put Booker to great expense 
m preparing for my entertainment. I asked him 
what preparation had been made, and he said, "Why, 
Booker h ought a neiv hitreaii.'' This was a little bit 
of humor that was enjoyed by my brother and by 
me as well. 

During my term in Congress I appointed two 
young fellows (both of whom were born and raised 
m Bowling Green, Pike County) to the MiUtary 
Academy at West Point, and to the Naval Academy 
at Annapolis, respectively. Arthur Murray, a son of 
Judge Samuel P. Murray, went to West Point and 
Matthew Givens Reynolds, a son of a very dear 
friend of mine. Dr. Stephen J. Reynolds, went to 
Annapolis. Both of them graduated with honor. 
Murray is now a Major General in the United States 
Army, on the retired list. Reynolds, after serving 
for two years, resigned from the Navy, studied law, 
and for years was a leading lawyer of St. Louis. I 
have always been proud of these two appointments. 
While serving in Congress, I introduced and 
succeeded m having passed a bill authorizing the 



134 Autobiography and Beminiscences 

building of a railroad bridge across the Mississippi 
River at Louisiana, Missouri. This measure was 
bitterly fought by the steam boat interest, which had 
no objection to a high bridge, but opposed a low or 
draw bridge. 

The traffic of the Chicago and Alton Railroad Com- 
pany between Chicago and Kansas City passes over 
that bridge. It is an important link in that great 
system. The bridge was built in 1873, two years after 
the authority was given. In the meantime, a rail- 
road was being built from Louisiana west. This line 
was taken over by the Chicago and Alton, and now 
forms a part of the through line from Chicago to 
Kansas City. On this line the first railroad in Pike 
Coimty was built. 

When the track was laid from Louisiana to Bowl- 
ing Green, a distance of twelve miles, an excursion 
train composed entirely of flat or mud cars was 
organized. On board these cars were a number of the 
citizens of Louisiana, including myself, who went to 
Bowling Green. Here, for miles around, the old 
farmers assembled to see a railroad train for the first 
time. Among those present was my old friend, John- 
son Hendrick, of whom I have spoken before. He 
had lived in Pike County since 1820, but had never 
seen or ridden upon a railroad car. When we got 
ready to start back to Louisiana, I invited him to get 
aboard and go home with me. He accepted the in- 
vitation and climbed on to one of the flat cars and sat 
down on the floor with his feet gathered under him. 
I told him to move over to the side and let his feet 
**hang over" and he would be more comfortable. To 
this he said, **No, I might get my feet caught in the 



state and National Affairs 135 

spokes." He had never known any other than a 
wagon wheel. 

Old "Uncle Johnson" was a great character and 
knew much more than he professed. Years after this 
he was at my house in Louisiana when his attention 
was attracted to a telegraph wire that had been strung 
along the street I lived on. When told what it was 
he said, "I thought Mrs. Hunt had got her clothes 
line a little high." The lady referred to was my 
wife's mother. He was a good farmer, a good man, 
and a good friend. 

In the "hurly-burly" of railroads, automobiles, 
prohibition, woman's suffrage and short dresses, it 
would be better for the country if the simple and 
plain mode of living, as practiced in the old time, was 
more in evidence. The presence of "Old Uncle 
Johnson" in my mind, has led me away from the 
path I started out to follow in this chapter. I will 
go back to the political happenings in the State in 
1869 and 1870, and the part I took in them. 

During the year 1869 and the early part of 1870, 
a movement was started by and among the republi- 
cans to "liberalize the Constitution" and remove 
from it such features as discriminated against those 
who had taken part as soldiers in the rebellion, and 
those who sympathized with the South during the 
war. This movement among the republicans in the 
State had a beginning at the State Capital. Four 
or five men met and discussed the course that should 
be followed to bring about the success of the move- 
ment. Among them were Colonel Wells H. Blodgett 
of Johnson County, Honorable Theodore Bruere of 
St. Charles, and myself. 



136 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

The movement was well under way throughout the 
State, but had not sufficiently crystallized to become 
effective. The most influential leaders in the re- 
publican party that were in favor of changes in the 
organic law of the State, so as to remove the disabili- 
ties imposed upon Confederate soldiers and their 
sympathizers, were B. Gratz Brown and Carl 
Schurz. 

The Republican State Convention w^as called to 
meet at Jefferson City the latter part of August, 1870. 
Here the forces "for and against" met. Governor 
Joseph W. McClurg was a candidate for renomina- 
tion. He was opposed to the liberal policy advocated 
by Brown, Schurz and others. He was well sup- 
ported in his opposition by Honorable Chauncy I. 
Filley and Congressman Havens of Springfield, D. 
T. Jewett of St. Louis, and others. 

The conflict came and by what the Liberals claimed 
to be a *' packed" convention, the advocates of a 
liberal policy were defeated. This resulted in ' ' bolt. ' ' 
The Liberals left the hall of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, w^here the convention was being held, and 
repaired to the Senate Chamber, where a separate 
organization was effected. Here, B. Gratz Brown 
was nominated for Governor on what was then 
christened the Liberal Republican ticket, and a full 
ticket was nominated in the House. The regulars 
nominated Joseph W. McClurg for Governor, and a 
full ticket then and thereafter known as the Regular 
Republican ticket. The democrats made no nomina- 
tion but supported the candidates on the Liberal Re- 
publican ticket. 

An incident occurred in the regular convention be- 



state and National Affairs 137 

fore the * ' bolt ' ' that I stop here to note. In the midst 
of heated discussion and a display of much anger upon 
the part of delegates, a telegram was handed to the 
President of the convention by a messenger. It was 
opened and by the President read to the convention. 
It proved to be from Honorable John B. Henderson, 
dated at Louisiana, Missouri. It said, "If Colonel 
Dyer is in the convention, please inform him that a 
pair of twins, a boy and a girl, send greetings to their 
father. Mother and children doing well." This 
message seemed for a moment to be "oil on the 
troubled waters" but it did not last. The "bolt" 
took place and I was one of the bolters. The boy was 
named David and the girl Lizzie. The boy was nam- 
ed for his father and the girl for her mother. Both 
are living, I am glad to say, at the date of this writ- 
ing. 



IX 

STATE AND NATIONAL AFFAIRS Continued 

Tlie 42d Congress — Cholera in Louisiana — / Pre- 
scribe Treatment and make $1,000.00 — Rollins and 
Lamm Anecdotes — Naval Academy Visitors Board 
— W or den-Lincoln Incident. 

I was nominated by the Liberal Republicans of the 
Ninth District for the Forty-Second Congress. Ed- 
win Draper of Louisiana, Missouri, was nominated 
by the Regular Republicans, and Judge Andrew King 
of St. Charles County by the Democrats. This made 
a triangular fight in which Judge King was elected. 
The Liberal Republican State ticket was elected by a 
large majority. Honorable Charles D. Drake, then a 
United States Senator from Missouri, resigned to 
accept an appointment by President Grant on the 
bench of the Court of Claims. The vacancy in the 
Senate was filled by the appointment, by Governor 
McClurg, of Daniel T. Jewett. The State legislature 
shortly after that time elected Honorable Frank P. 
Blair, Jr. a Senator. While the Liberal Republican 
ticket for State officers was elected by a large major- 
ity, the democrats succeeded in electing a majority of 
members in both branches of the State Legislature. 

It was during the summer of 1871 that "dicker- 
ing" between Governor Brown and leading members 



state and National Affairs — Continued 139 

of the democratic party in the State, looking to the 
nomination of the former for President in 1872 by 
the democratic party began. It was this "bait" that 
caught Governor Brown and led him to abandon, i.e., 
to betray the Liberal Republicans of the State. He 
failed to receive the nomination for the presidency, 
but did receive that for Vice-President on the demo- 
cratic ticket, headed by Horace Greeley. President 
Grant was re-elected and Senator Henry Wilson of 
Massachusetts, Vice-President, over Greeley and 
Brown by a large majority. Governor Brown and 
General Blair were cousins, and their defection from 
the republican party gave the State over to the 
control of the democrats. This control was held un- 
til the election in 1904 when Herbert S. Hadley, a 
republican, was elected Governor. 

In 1872, 1 was a delegate from the Ninth Congres- 
sional District of Missouri to the National Republican 
Convention that met at Philadelphia and nominated 
Grant and Wilson. My colleague from the Ninth 
District was Honorable Theodore Bruere of St. 
Charles. Twenty-eight years later (in 1900) Bruere 
and I were again delegates from Missouri to the Na- 
tional Republican Convention at Philadelphia, that 
nominated McKinley and Roosevelt. This, I think, 
was a remarkable coincidence. 

Bruere was a German by birth and came to Mis- 
souri when quite young. He studied law with the 
Honorable Arnold Krekel, who afterwards became 
United States District Judge for the Western Dis- 
trict of Missouri. Bruere was a good lawyer and a 
good man. He has long since passed over the ** great 
divide." 



140 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Brown as Governor was succeeded by Silas Wood- 
son ; lie by Charles H. Hardin ; he by John S. Phelps ; 
he by Thomas T. Crittenden ; followed by John S. 
Marmaduke, Albert P. Morehouse, David R. Francis, 
AYilliam J. Stone, Lon. V. Stephens, Alexander M. 
Dockery, and Joseph W. Folk. Hadley, as before 
stated, was the first Republican Governor after 
Brown. Gardner, the last Democratic Governor, was 
elected in 1916, and Hyde, a republican, in 1920. 

In the latter part of the foregoing I have gotten a 
little ahead of my story, as originally planned. 

I took quite an active part in the campaign of 1872, 
and after the election of that year, devoted my time 
to the practice of law. 

In 1873, while the bridge was being built across the 
Mississippi River, cholera visited the little city of 
Louisiana and took off nearly a hundred of its citi- 
zens. It was during that epidemic that I watched 
closely the effect of medical treatment — that is, the 
treatment given by physicians of the old or Allopathic 
school, and those of the new or Homeopathic school. 
The leading physician in the city of the old school 
was Dr. W. T. Stewart, and the only one of the new 
school was Dr. D. L. Dej^oe. Of course a much larger 
munber, probably four-fifths, of the patients were 
treated by the old school. It is a remarkable fact but 
true nevertheless, that not a single death occurred 
among the patients treated by Dr. Deyoe. 

One case in which I felt a very great interest was 
that of the Marshal of the city, Mr. Thomas. He was 
attended in the first place by Drs. Jones and Draper, 
of the old school. They told me that Thomas would 
die and that they would not return to see him. I at 



State and National Affairs — Continued 141 

once went to Deyoe and told him to go and see him. 
This was late in the evening. The next morning 
(Deyoe had remained all night with Thomas) I met 
the Doctor and was delighted to hear him say that 
Thomas was better and would get well. This one 
case gave Deyoe great prestige. Dr. W. C. Hardin, 
my wife 's uncle by marriage, was a retired physician 
of the old school. He was bitterly hostile to the 
homeopaths, and in my presence attempted to ridi- 
cule the medicine and treatment. The only reply I 
made to him was that I knew nothing of the virtues 
or merits of the two medicines, but that I was quite 
as competent as he to determine a dead man from a 
live one. 

A very interesting case occurred in the treatment of 
the disease by Dr. Stewart. It was that of a Jew by 
the name of Hoover. A day or two before Hoover was 
taken sick, I had a talk with Dr. Stewart as to the 
treatment of the disease by him. I asked him if the 
profession had not learned anything since the cholera 
epidemic of 1849 and 1865. His reply was no, the 
same treatment now as then. I called his attention to 
an article taken from a French magazine, wherein 
pulverized ice applied to the full length of the spine 
had worked wonders in the treatment of the disease. 
He laughed and said that in the next case which he 
had where recovery seemed hopeless he would apply 
the ice. 

The day after this I met him and asked if he had 
tried the '4ce remedy." He said yes, he had applied 
the ice to the spine of Hoover, which seemed to pro- 
duce a fine effect and looked for a time as if Hoover 
would recover, but that he was suddenly called to 



142 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

another patient across the street, and while he was 
gone he left the bag of ice on Hoover's spine: when 
he returned he found that Hoover had frozen to 
death. My ice prescription was not tried again. 

After the death and burial of Hoover, his widow 
came to me with a receipt for five dollars signed by 
Theodore Wiseman, a life insurance agent residing 
in Louisiana. It appeared that Hoover had applied 
for a life policy in the sum of two thousand dollars 
in a company represented by Wiseman and the five 
dollars had been given to him on account of the prem- 
imn. The company accepted the risk, issued a policy 
and forwarded the same to Wiseman to be delivered 
to Hoover upon the payment of the rest of the prem- 
ium. This policy was not issued on the plan desired 
by Hoover and it was returned to the company for a 
different one, but before the other policy came Hoov- 
er died, and the question was as to whether the com- 
pany was liable. I considered it very doubtful, but 
accepted employment on the basis of a contingent 
fee of fifty per cent of the amount recovered. 

I brought the suit and won it before Honorable 
John F. Dillon, of the United States Circuit Court 
at St. Louis. I received two thousand dollars, pay- 
ing Mrs. Hoover one thousand and retaining for my- 
self the other. 

Meeting Dr. Stewart, who had heard the result, he 
at once demanded one-half of my fee on the ground 
that he had applied, on 7nij recommendation, the ice 
remedy that killed Hoover and but for which there 
would have been no case. 

Among the deaths occurring at Louisiana from 
cholera that year was that of the greatest wag I ever 



state and National Affairs — Continued 143 

knew, Sid Shaw. His witticisms are still remembered 
and greatly appreciated by the few men of that dis- 
tant day who remain. 

I heard Major James S. Rollins tell a story in the 
State Senate once that had a good effect in illustrat- 
ing the position of what was at that time known as the 
Green Back party. A bill was under consideration 
for the renewal of the State debt then maturing. 
That debt was in gold bearing bonds. Rollins wanted 
this paid in gold according to the terms of the bond. 
The opposition (democrats) wanted to pay the debt 
in depreciated currency, green backs, but to make 
the new bonds payable in gold with twenty years to 
run. 

Rollins said, "You promised that the old bonds 
should be paid in gold and now you want to pay them 
in green backs, and issue a new promise to pay in 
gold. This reminds me of old man Van Bibber, of 
Boone County, who kept a hotel or 'stopping place' on 
the Boonslick road for travellers. Van Bibber en- 
tertained the belief that the happenings of the day 
would be repeated every one thousand years, and that 
this had been so from the beginning of the world. He 
let no occasion pass without trying to impress his 
visitors with the truth of his belief. 

''One evening three young men rode up and asked 
to stay overnight. The horses they were riding were 
of different colors, one a bay, another black and the 
other a claybank. The men alighted, had their horses 
stabled and fed and then went into the house where 
they ate supper before a good, roaring fire. Soon Van 
Bibber began to discourse on his belief and seemed 



144 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

to be well satisfied with the impression he made upon 
the three strangers. 

*'The next morning one of the men, who acted as 
spokesman for the other two, said, 'Mr. Van Bibber, 
we have thought over what you said last night about 
the w^orld repeating itself every one thousand years, 
and we are all converts to that teaching.' Mr. Van 
Bibber was delighted, and said, ' Yes, gentlemen, you 
will come here a thousand years hence as you did last 
night. You, sir, will be riding a bay horse, you, sir, 
a black, and you, sir, a claybank, and you will take 
shelter under my roof then as you have now.' The 
spokesman for the visitors then said, 'Yes, we believe 
all that you say, but Mr. Van Bibber, we are a long 
ways from home and have a long way yet to travel. 
We are a little short of money and if it will suit you 
as well, we would like to pay our bills when we come 
again.' This put another side to the question. Van 
Bibber scrutinized his visitors in an inquiring sort of 
way and then said, 'Since looking at you more par- 
ticularly I am satisfied you are the same three d n 

rascals that Avere here a thousand years ago and did 
not then pay your bills. ' ' ' 

I found it quite helpful in political speeches to 
apply this story to the various promises of democratic 
leaders. It was particularly so at Macon, Mo. 
An old democrat and a dear old friend of mine, Major 
Dysart, always attended the meetings that I addres- 
sed in Macon. He is a lawyer of ability and I always 
invited him to correct me if I made any mistakes. 
In the canvass when Robert E. Lewis, now^ United 
States Circuit Judge, was the republican candidate 
for Governor of Missouri, Judge Henry Lamm and 



state and National Affairs — Continued 145 

myself spoke in Springfield, Missouri, in support of 
his candidacy. It was near the close of the canvass. 

The meeting was largely advertised and a supreme 
effort was made upon the part of the republicans to 
outdo the democrats, who had a great demonstration 
at that place two days previously. Men, women and 
children came to Springfield the day before the meet- 
ing was to take place. Many came in wagons and 
other conveyances and went into camp in and about 
the city. 

On the day of the meeting, it began to rain in the 
morning and came down in torrents the whole blessed 
day, the people seeking shelter in the court house, 
the Opera House and other places. Lamm was desig- 
nated to speak at the court house at 11 A. M. and I 
was to speak at the Opera House at the same hour. 
The Grand Marshal of the day was Judge Hubbard, 
who had been a judge of the Circuit Court and held 
other important positions. He was a small man and 
exceedingly nervous and excitable. He wore a long 
sash of red, white and blue cambric that reached from 
his shoulder to his heels. 

The court room in which Lamm was discoursing 
was situated on the second floor. He had been speak- 
ing for an hour to the large crowd who were stirred 
to great enthusiasm by his eloquence and manifested 
their approval by vociferous shouting. In the middle 
of a long and eloquent sentence, and with his mouth 
wide open and his arms extended, up turned Hub- 
bard, who said to Lamm, ' ' Just a moment, please — 
I simply w^ant to announce that the good people of 
Springfield have prepared and set a dinner for every- 
one here on the lower floor of this building — that is 



146 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

all." There was a mad rush for the door and Lamm 
was left standing with his mouth wide open, his arms 
extended and his sentence uncompleted, while he saw 
the last one of his auditors depart. It was claimed 
that this interruption by Hubbard defeated the 
election of Lewis for Governor. 

Later on and during another canvass I again 
spoke at Macon, Missouri, with my old democratic 
friend. Major Dysart, an interested auditor on the 
platform. It was the year that the National Demo- 
cratic convention met in St. Louis, adopted a free 
silver platform and nominated Parker of New York 
for President. It will be remembered that Parker 
in his acceptance wrote it on a Western Union tele- 
graph blank and practically declared for the *'gold 
standard," thereby repudiating the free silver plat- 
form that had been adopted. 

At Macon I utilized a story I heard Bob Tay- 
lor of Tennessee tell. Speaking of the deep dis- 
appointment that the great following of William J. 
Bryan felt when the telegram of Parker appeared, 
I said, "It reminds me of an incident that occurred 
at a Baptist baptizing. There had been a great re- 
vival in the church and one Sunday morning a large 
number of converts stood on the bank of a creek 
waiting to be immersed by the preacher. 

''A young fellow in the neighborhood with his 
sweetheart went to the 'baptizing' in an old buggy 
drawn by a claybank mule. He got as close as he con- 
veniently could, hitched his mule to a tree, and he 
and his best girl pushed their way to the very edge 
of the water. The preacher, a large strong man, took 
one of the candidates at a time and went into the 



state and National Affairs — Continued 147 

water while the great crowd on the bank sang at the 
very top of their voices. Bringing this one back he 
then went after another. The country fellow was a 
great stammerer and he was dressed in a suit of nan- 
keen and stood right in the line of the candidates. 
The preacher grabbed him and against the protests 
of the fellow in the nankeen clothes forced him into 
and under the water. As he came out an old sister 
on the bank shouted glory and said to the unwilling 
candidate, 'How do you feel now, brother?' He 
stammered out his reply by saying, 'I feel like a 
d-d-d-damned fool.' I asked Dysart if that did not 
fairly represent the condition of the democrats in 
Macon County. He said it was as Hrue as the 
gospel.' " 

In June, 1874, 1 was appointed by President Grant 
a member of the Board of Visitors to the Naval 
Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. As stated else- 
where in these reminiscences, Matthew Givens Rey- 
nolds, a son of an old and valued friend of mine, 
Doctor Stephen J. Reynolds of Bowling Green, was, 
while I was a member of the 41st Congress in 1870, 
nominated by me to the Academy as a midshipman. 
He had been in the Academy for four years and was 
to be graduated. I was so tenderly fond of the boy 
and his father that I was glad to accept the appoint- 
ment of Visitor the year of his graduation. 

The Board was made up of ten or a dozen men from 
different sections of the country, together with a 
representation from each house of Congress. The 
President of the Board was Rear Admiral William 
Reynolds, whose services to the country w^ere long 
and distinguished. He was born in 1815 and died in 



148 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

1879. Of hini the Secretary of the Navy said, "In 
the administration of the duties committed to him he 
did much to improve the personnel and efficiency of 
the enlisted men of the Navy, and in the discharge of 
all the duties devolving on him, during a long career 
in the service, he exhibited zeal, intelligence and 
ability, for all of which he was conspicuous. ' ' There 
were many distinguished men on the Board of 
Visitors, among them General James H. Wilson and 
General John Gibbon of the Army and Captain 
Stephen Bleecker Luce of the Navy. 

The Superintendent of the Academy at the time 
was Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden. It was 
Worden who commanded the Monitor in the battle 
royal with the Merrimac on the 9th of March, 1862, 
in Hampton Roads, and by that battle saved the re- 
mainder of the American fleet there from destruction. 
The Merrimac had on the day before sunk the ships 
Congress and Cumberland and came back from Nor- 
folk on the 9th for the purpose of destroying those 
remaining. It was then that the little ' ' Cheese Box, ' ' 
as the Monitor was called, engaged the Merrimac and 
drove her back disabled to Norfolk. This history is 
well known but I repeat it here for a purpose. 

The number of midshipmen composing the graduat- 
ing class were divided into two companies, one of 
which was commanded by my appointee, Matthew G. 
Re3rQolds. The men were drilled on shore and on 
ship in the presence of the Visitors. For the com- 
pany best drilled there was to be presented a prize, 
a beautiful silk American flag. The president of the 
Board (Admiral Reynolds) appointed Generals Wil- 
son, Gibbon and Captain Luce, to be the judges and 



State and National Affairs — Continued 149 

these gentlemen awarded the prize to the company 
commanded by my appointee. 

The two companies were marched to the office or 
quarters of Admiral Worden, and drawn up in line 
for the presentation ceremonies. The young and 
beautiful daughter of Admiral Worden was selected 
to present the flag. The duties were performed in a 
most graceful and impressive manner. While this 
was being done the Board of Visitors were gathered 
about the Admiral. He said, ''That girl (meaning 
his daughter) was born while I was at sea, and I 
never saw her until she was five years old." This 
speech was a sunple but wonderful tribute to the 
loyalty of the man to his country, to his ship, and to 
his flag. The Government required his services in 
distant seas, and he gave up home, the companionship 
of wife and the cooing and pratter of his baby girl, 
to serve his country and to keep its flag flying. 

The presentation of the flag and the circumstances 
surrounding it made a deep impression upon those 
who were fortunate enough to be there. This one 
recital by the Admiral was not all that he said upon 
that occasion. In a modest way, while tears stood 
in his eyes, he told of the visit of President Lincoln 
to him after the battle between the Monitor and 
Merrimac had taken place. In this battle Worden 
was painfully wounded in the face, and it was thought 
for some time that he would lose his sight. He was 
taken by Lieutenant Greene to Washington and 
rested at the old Kirkwood Hotel. His head was 
bandaged and his physical suffering intense. He 
could not see and his physicians were afraid that his 
eyes would eventually slough out. While in this con- 



150 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

dition lie directed Lieutenant Greene to go to the 
White House and make a personal report of the 
battle to the President. 

When Greene entered the President's room, the 
Cabinet was beginning to assemble. Mr. Lincoln at 
once asked Greene, "Where is Worden?" When 
told, he picked up his hat and said to the members 
of the Cabinet, "Keep your seats, gentlemen, I am 
going to see Worden. ' ' The description of that visit 
by Worden was beautifully eloquent and touching in 
its simplicity. The President and Greene came to the 
door and Greene said, "Worden, here is President 
Lincoln. ' ' Worden put his hand out from under the 
covers, grasped the hand of Lincoln and said, 
"Mr. President, you do me great honor in coming to 
see me when there are so many more worse off than I 
am.'' "No," said Mr. Lincoln, "I came to thank 
you in the name of every loyal heart for the great 
service you have rendered the country." 

If this little recital (true in every detail) can add 
the slightest interest to the blessed memory of one of 
the greatest and sweetest characters the world has 
ever known, I will be glad. 



THE WHISKEY ^'EING" 

Appointment as U. S. Attorney — The Saint Louis 
Bar — The ''Ring's" Methods — Evidence and Pros- 
ecution—President Grant's Secretary Implicated 
— The Bristotv-Grant Episode. 

In May, 1875, I was appointed Tnited States 
Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri by 
President Grant to succeed William Patrick. At the 
time of my appointment I was a resident of Louisiana, 
Pike County, where I had lived since 1862. The 
notice of my appointment came in a telegram from 
St. Louis signed by Honorable John B. Henderson, 
which I received while engaged in the trial of a case 
in the Louisiana Court of Common Pleas. I had no 
intimation whatever of this and consequently was 
greatly surprised when I received the message from 
Mr. Henderson. I never knew and do not now know 
what influence brought about the appointment. 

I had an acquaintance in General Grant's Cabinet, 
General W. W. Belknap, whom I had known while 
he was Collector of Internal Eevenue at Keokuk, 
Iowa. He had made a seizure in Keokuk of a large 
tobacco factory owned by parties who had their homes 
in Pike County, Missouri. I was employed by them 
to represent their interests in certain proceedings 



152 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

then pending before Judge Love, then United States 
District Judge. This was an interesting case, in- 
volving questions arising under the revenue laws of 
the United States. I was successful in the defense 
and a decision by Judge Love restored the property 
seized to my clients. The United States attorney 
took the case to the Supreme Court where the decision 
of Judge Love was affirmed. 

This was my introduction to a trial involving the 
revenue laws of the United States. I always be- 
lieved it was the trial of this case that induced 
General Belknap to recommend my appointment. 
A¥hatever the fact may have been, I determined to 
accept the position and my commission came along in 
a day or two when I went to St. Louis and qualified. 

In that city there w^ere many able lawyers in active 
practice at that tune. Among them were Samuel T. 
Glover, John R. Shepley, Fidelio C. Sharp, James O. 
Broadhead, John B. Henderson, John W. Noble, 
Henry C. Hayden, Henry Hitchcock, G. A. Finkeln- 
burg, Britton A. Hill, John M. Krum, Chester H. 
Krum, George A. Medill, George P. Strong, John C. 
Orrick, Samuel Knox, D. T. Jewett, Amos M. Thayer, 
and E. B. Adams. 

Of all these, only one remains — Chester H. Krum. 
No city in the whole country could boast a greater 
Bar than St. Louis from the years 1865 to 1880. 
The men composing it were indeed Imvyers. This 
was before the day of getting rich at the expense 
of professional honor, before the day of money grab- 
bing, before the day when ambulance chasing became 
a part of a lawyer's undertaking, before the day when 
get-rich-quick concerns held the board, before the day 



The Whiskey ''Ring'' 153 

when the courts' calendars were loaded down with 
nauseating divorce cases, before the day when women 
drank high-balls, smoked cigarettes, wore dresses 
short at both ends and displayed long stockings of 
bright colors, before the day when money was the con- 
trolling factor in obtaining place and position in good 
society. Aye, at that time intelligence, integrity 
and moral worth were the recognized requirements 
for admission to homes of culture and refinement. 

It would be far better for the good of the com- 
munity if the habits of that day were the habits and 
customs of the present. 

There was much excitement throughout the country 
and especially in St. Louis at that tune, over reports 
that a great conspirac}^ existed between revenue 
officers, distillers, rectifiers, liquor dealers and 
prominent and influential persons to defraud the 
United States out of its revenue upon distilled spirits. 

Previous to my appointment the United States had 
made seizures of the distilleries in St. Louis, and were 
proceeding to condemn and sell them for alleged 
frauds committed by their owners in violation of the 
revenue laws of the United States. The law at the 
time provided that a tax of seventy cents on every 
proof gallon of whiskey made should be levied and 
collected. The mode of collecting this tax was by the 
sale of revenue stamps. 

The spirits when made were first run from the still 
into receiving cisterns where no one but a Government 
storekeeper was allowed to enter. These spirits were 
drawn off from the cisterns into barrels, and were 
taken to the distillery warehouse. When the distiller 
desired to remove this from the warehouse, he was re- 



154 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

quired to number each barrel, beginning with No. 1. 
It was also necessary to place upon each barrel a 
stamp showing that the tax had been paid on every 
proof gallon contained therein. It was gauged and 
sent to a rectifier, who was required to send notice 
to the Collector of the proposed *' dumping" for recti- 
fication. The Collector would send another ganger 
to the rectifier's place, where the spirits were again 
gauged. He was required to report under oath to the 
Collector, that he had destroyed the stamps on the 
barrels emptied, and had erased the serial niunber of 
the barrel or cask. 

The law demanded that each barrel and also each 
stamp should bear a serial nmnber and the distiller 
was required to keep on forms, furnished by the 
Government, a correct statement of the serial number 
of each. As had been seen, it was the duty of the 
ganger at the rectifying establishment to destroy the 
stamp and efface the number on the barrel, so that 
the stamp could not be used again on another barrel. 

The scheme to defraud in one particular was plain 
and easily understood. It had its origin in the city 
of Cincinnati, as I believe, under the immediate super- 
vision of one, C. G. Megrue, who was a United States 
assessor. Megrue came to St. Louis in 1871 or 1872 
and organized the "Ring" there. The scheme was, 
when first adopted, substantialh^ this. Instead of 
destroying the stamp on the barrel as the law re- 
quired, it would be removed and used again on an- 
other and different barrel. In this way the stamp 
would serve to show that the tax had been paid upon 
two instead of one barrel. For example, if the stamp 
in the first instance had been used on a barrel con- 



The Whiskey ''Ring" 155 



taining 40 proof gallons, the use of it a second time 
would add another 40 proof barrel. The tax paid 
stamp cost $28.00 ; the use of it a second time would 
fraudulently show that the Government had been de- 
frauded of $28.00, an amount that the conspirators, 
instead of the Government, would receive. 

Another scheme to defraud was by cheating in the 
proof. A barrel would be made to hold or purport 
to hold let us say only 40 proof gallons upon which the 
Government would be entitled to $28.00 or seventy 
cents per gallon, whereas in fact the contents of the 
barrel would show whiskey of 180 proof instead of 
100 proof. By reducing this proof to 100 (required 
by law) there would be enough to make ahnost another 
barrel. Each stamp had a serial nmnber and by 
using it a second time the duplication could be dis- 
covered. For awhile the regulations did not require 
the "dumping papers," or copies then sent to Wash- 
ington, but later this was required. These ' ' dumping 
papers" made out on a form furnished by the Govern- 
ment showed the serial number of the cask or barrel, 
and the serial number of the stamp. After a long 
time the duplication was discovered and thereupon an 
inquiry began. 

Benjamin H. Bristow of Kentucky was the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury and Bluf ord Wilson of Illinois, 
Solicitor of the Treasury in 1874-1875 and until 1876. 
These officers were not only honest and diligent but 
without fear, and under their immediate direction 
the inquiry at St. Louis and elsewhere was begun and 
prosecuted. At St. Louis, Honorable Samuel Treat 
was the fearless and able United States District 
Judge. 



156 Aiitohiograph y and Reminiscences 

As before stated, the distilleries in St. Louis had 
been (prior to my coming) seized and proceedings be- 
gun to forfeit and sell them. I found that a grand 
jury had been sworn and empanneled in the United 
States District Court at the spring term of that year 
and that it was holding daily sessions in the Federal 
Building on the corner of Third and Olive streets. 
The foreman of the jury was Eichard M. Scruggs of 
the dry goods firm of Scruggs, Vandervoort and Bar- 
ney. Scruggs was honest and courageous, and made a 
most excellent foreman. The Court had little else be- 
fore it from May until the latter i^art of August ex- 
cept the ' * Whiskey ' ' inquiry. I knew but little of the 
revenue law when I was appointed and the path to a 
successful prosecution of those who violated it had not 
been plainly blazed. I struggled along as best I could 
in what seemed to be inextricable confusion. The 
patience, kindly advice and suggestions of Judge 
Treat were of the greatest possible assistance to me. 
I have never ceased to remember his kindness with 
gratitude. 

The investigation w^as long and tedious, and the 
difficulties encountered while obtaining evidence of a 
legal and convincing character were very great. 
Little by little, however, facts were discovered that 
paved the way for an exposure which astounded and 
shocked the country. In the first place, it was shown 
that the "Ring" came into existence in the late 
spring or early summer of 1871 in this way. John 
A. Joyce, a revenue agent on duty here who had be- 
fore that time been a clerk in the Treasury Depart- 
ment at Washington, wrote to Conduce G. Megrue at 
Cincinnati, Ohio, to come to St. Louis. Megrue had 



The Whiskey ''Ring'' 157 



been an assessor under the Internal Revenue law at 
Cincinnati. In response to this letter he came to St. 
Louis, and after consultation with Joyce proceeded to 
take charge of what he caUed "an organization to 
make some money fraudulently. ' ' 

The way it was done w^as to evade the tax on a given 
amount of distilled spirits by giving a portion of the 
production to those distillers who might be in the 
organization. He first saw Alfred Bevis of Bevis 
and Eraser, distillers, and secured his co-operation; 
then that of Macklot Thompson and Peter Curron, 
both of Tvhom were distillers also. Later on in the 
spring of 1872, Rudolph W. Ulvici came into the 
organization. 

It was agreed among these men that they might 
evade about one-half of the tax or thirty-five cents on 
each and every proof gallon of spirits made by them 
respectively. One-half of the amount thus fraud- 
ulently realized was to be retained by the distillers 
and the other half divided between various other 
parties connected with the Ring organization. The 
making of the ''Crooked Whiskey" did not actually 
begin until August, 1871. Megrue was the collector 
and he received the money from the distillers and 
distributed it to others who were members of the 
"Ring." 

Megrue remained in St. Louis until November, 
1872, when he returned to Cincinnati and ceased 
active connection with the organization that he had 
founded. During the time here he received money 
from the distillers each Saturday and disbursed it. 
He received from one to three thousand dollars each 
w^eek from Bevis and Fraser; Macklot Thompson 



158 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

turned over to liim from $500.00 to $1200.00; Curron 
about the same, and later from Ulrici lie received 
from $2,500.00 to $3,500.00. A portion of the amount 
received by Megrue was set aside to pay O. H. Avery, 
clerk at Washington, and the subordinate officers, 
such as gangers, storekeepers, deputies, etc., the re- 
mainder being divided into five parts. He retained 
one-fifth of that part for himself, paid John A. Joyce, 
revenue agent, one-fifth; John McDonald, super- 
visor, one-fifth, and gave the remaining two-fifths to 
John Leavenworth, a ganger. 

This "was the beginning of the frauds in St. Louis. 
After Megrue left, these continued upon a much 
larger scale. New members were admitted, other dis- 
tilleries started and a greater amount of "Crooked 
Whiskey" made. The scheme to defraud was 
actively continued until 1875 (with the exception of 
a few months in 1874 when Joyce was away in San 
Francisco). To make the conspiracy a success, it 
was necessary to include in the organization dis- 
tillers, rectifiers, whole-sale liquor dealers, all revenue 
officers in St. Louis and men of influence in Wash- 
ington. 

The above facts were developed in the hearing and 
in the early part of August, 1875, the grand jury 
found and reported bills of indictment against the 
following persons, to-wit : 

Conduce G. Megrue. 

John McDonald, Supervisor of Internal Revenue. 
William O. Avery, Chief Clerk of the Treasury De- 
partment. 
John A. Joyce, Revenue Agent. 



The Whiskey ''Ring'' 159 

Joseph M. Fitzroy, Deputy Collector. 

George W. Fitzroy, Gauger. 

John McFall, Ganger. 

Abijah M. Everest, Ganger. 

John E. Howard, Ganger. 

Lonis Kellerman, Ganger. 

John A. Mead, Ganger. 

Wm. J. Bassett, Ganger. 

Findlay Robb, Storekeeper. 

Richard B. Jones, Storekeeper. 

Selvin D. Thorpe, Storekeeper. 

Alfred Bevis, Distiller. 

Edmnnd B. Eraser, Distiller. 

Gordon B. Bingham, Distiller. 

John W. Bingham, Distiller. 

F. C. Eraser, Rectifier & Distiller. 

Lonis Tenscher, Distiller. 

William R. Jonett, Distiller. 

L. G. Quinlivan, Rectifier. 

Benj. A. Qninlan, Rectifier. 

W. H. Wadworth, Rectifier. 

R. W. Ulrici, Distiller. 

Gerhard Bursberg, Rectifier. 

Barnett H. Engelke, Rectifier. 

John L. Bernnker, Rectifier. 

E. W. Bolhnan, Rectifier. 

Edmnnd R. O'Hara, Rectifier. 

R. Angust Thias, Rectifier. 

C. L. Robb, Rectifier. 

C. D. Robbins, Rectifier. 

The charges covered conspiracy, making false re- 
ports, removing whiskey contrary to law, violation of 



160 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

revenue laws, bribery, fraudulently removing stamps, 
destroying records, etc. 

Later on the grand jury returned bills of indict- 
ment against William McKee, O. E. Babcock (Secre- 
tary to the President), Constantine Maguire, Col- 
lector of Internal Revenue, Zebulon Leavenworth 
and others. 

The officers in Washington which the evidence 
connected with the ''Ring" were Avery, Chief Clerk 
of the Treasury, and Babcock, Secretary to the Presi- 
dent. The necessity for and value of this connection 
was very apparent. Avery could keep parties in St. 
Louis advised of any order looking to an investiga- 
tion of the distilleries at St. Louis and the sums of 
money paid to the collector by them, Babcock could 
guard against examinations and prevent the commis- 
sioner of Internal Revenue from sending agents to 
St. Louis, etc. 

Another most important member of the "Ring" 
was William McKee, a wealthy and influential citizen 
and the proprietor of a republican newspaper of wide 
circulation. Each and every one of the persons in- 
dicted was an active member of the republican party 
and an enthusiastic supporter of President Grant. 
They wielded great influence with the administration 
and virtually controlled federal patronage in St. 
Louis. 

How it came that I was appointed United States 
attorney has heretofore been explained. I was a re- 
publican and as a delegate had supported General 
Grant in both of the conventions that nominated him 
for the presidency and voted for him at the elections 
in 1868 and 1872. The fact that I was a republican 



The WUsketj ''Ring" 161 

and all of the accused were of the same party, did not 
influence my action in the least. I tried to do my duty 
as a sworn public officer and was not swerved from 
that responsibility by the cry "he is hurting the 
party." Every possible obstacle was thrown in the 
way of the prosecution by selfish, dishonest and un- 
principled politicians, whose false representation to 
General Grant embittered him against Bristow and 
other officers engaged in unearthing the frauds and 
punishing the guilty. It is a great pleasure to know 
(as will be hereafter shown) that General Grant, be- 
fore he was taken to Mt. McGregor where he died, 
became convinced of the wrong that he in thought and 
deed had done his brave, faithful and courageous 
Secretary of the Treasury, Benjamin H. Bristow, 
and, like a brave man that he was, he openly and 
frankly apologized for the wrong done. 

Nearly all of the persons indicted, except McDon- 
ald, Joyce, Avery, McKee and Babcock, pleaded 
guilty. McDonald was tried, convicted and sentenced 
to the penitentary. The trial of Avery followed, and 
he was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary. 
Joyce was tried at Jefferson City for an offense com- 
mitted in the Western District and was there con- 
victed in a trial before Judge Krekel and sentenced 
to the penitentiary. McKee was tried, convicted and 
sentenced to six months in jail and to pay a fine of 
$5,000.00. Babcock was tried and acquitted. Con 
Maguire, the Collector of Internal Revenue, pleaded 
guilty to previous knowledge of the frauds and fail- 
ure to report them. He was given a jail sentence of 
six months and a fine of $5,000.00. 

As before said, every conceivable scheme was 



162 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

adopted by the defendants, their friends, and by un- 
principled politicians to discredit the efforts made by 
Bristow and other officers in the prosecution of those 
engaged in defrauding the Government of its revenue. 
Notwithstanding these dastardly attacks the work 
went bravely on. 

The files in the Western Union Telegraph office 
were examined by the grand jury in the search for 
evidence. The ^^dmnping papers" showing dupli- 
cation of the revenue stamps by distillers and recti- 
fiers were brought to the attention of the grand 
jury. These furnished the key that unlocked the 
door to the most monstrous frauds ever attempted 
upon the revenues of this country. It was in fact an 
assault upon the very life of the Government. 

When the ** dumping papers" were before the jury 
and the distillers and recitifiers appeared as witnes- 
ses, there was no escape for them. They had to ad- 
mit the fraud when confronted with the duplication 
of stamps, which gave convincing evidence as to the 
parties composing the ''Ring." 

The amount of money derived from this fraud was 
divided among the members. The percentage going 
to each was fixed, and the collection and distribution 
made each Saturday by a member chosen for that 
purpose. The amount going to each was placed in a 
separate envelope and delivered to them individually. 
The most important and influential personages be- 
longing to the ''Ring" received a greater sum than 
those of less importance. 

The first collector was Conduce G. Megrue and 
when he left St. Louis in 1872, he was succeeded by 
John Leavenworth, who afterwards died, and was 



The Whiskey ''Ring" 163 

followed by Joseph M. Fitzroy. The latter was suc- 
ceeded by A. M. Everest. 

From the organization of the ''Ring" in 1871 to 
May 1875, as much as two million dollars were stolen 
by the conspirators from the revenues of the United 
States. Megrue was here a little over a year, and he 
testified that his part of the stolen money amounted 
to sixty thousand dollars — this when only two dis- 
tillers contributed to the fund. 

Honorable John B. Henderson was employed by the 
Attorney General to assist the District Attorney in 
the prosecution. He had much to do in preparing 
the indictments and in the trial of some of the cases. 
His services were of great value. In the case of 
Avery, Chief Clerk of the Treasury Department, he 
was very efficient. In the course of his arguments to 
the jury he said things that gave great offense to 
President Grant, who was prejudiced against Hen- 
derson on account of the latter 's vote of ''not guilty" 
in the impeachment trial o I Andrew Johnson, and it 
did not take much to arouse his animosity. Hender- 
son's allusion to those about Washington who "would 
bend the supple hinges of the knee that thrift might 
follow fawning" was the particular occasion of the 
offense. 

The President directed the Attorney General to 
dispense with the further services of Mr. Henderson. 
In a dispatch received by me from Attorney General 
Pierrepont, he said: "Notify Mr. Henderson that 
his services are no longer required, and you are auth- 
orized to engage the services of an able lawyer to 
assist you. The President suggests either Samuel T. 
Glover or Ex-Governor Thomas C. Revnolds." 



164 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

I first showed the message to Mr. Glover, who de- 
clined on the ground that he had been consulted by 
one or more of those accused of participation in the 
frauds. I then saw Governor Reynolds who also de- 
clined without assigning any reason. Further, acting 
under the authority given me, I at once went to my 
old friend and preceptor, Honorable James O. Broad- 
head, and asked him to accept emplojrment. After 
some hesitation and, as I believe, out of his friend- 
ship for me, he agreed to accept. I at once wired 
the Attorney General the result of my interview with 
Glover and Reynolds and of my employment of Mr. 
Broadhead. He answered immediately approving my 
action and sent Mr. Broadhead a retainer of one 
thousand dollars. McDonald and Avery had been 
tried and convicted. Mr. Henderson retired and Mr. 
Broadhead came in. 

The President's hostility to Henderson, as before 
stated, began when the latter voted in the Senate 
against the impeachment of President Andrew John- 
son. His hostility to me became pronounced after 
the indictment of Babcock. I was not conscious of 
having given offense for I had admired and held him 
in high esteem — had voted as a delegate in two con- 
ventions for his nomination to the presidency and had 
cast my vote for him on the elections in 1868 and 
1872. 

Grant was an honest man and there was no evidence 
whatever that he knew of the frauds upon the revenue. 
His great fault was in blindly holding up and stand- 
ing by such men as McDonald, Joyce and Babcock. 
In the trial of Babcock, the President's deposition in 
his behalf was introduced and read. This deposition 



The Whiskey ''Ring'' 165 

made a deep impression upon Judge Dillon and I 
fear greatly influenced the Judge in his charge to the 
jury. It was that deposition and that charge that, 
in my opinion, wrung from the jury a verdict of *'not 
guilty." 

McDonald and Avery were prosecuted by Hender- 
son and myself. They were defended by one of the 
ablest lawyers at the St. Louis Bar, Chester Harding 
Krum. Both, as has been seen, were convicted and 
sentenced to the penitentiary, while Joyce was tried, 
convicted and sentenced at Jefferson City. 

William McKee was prosecuted by Colonel Broad- 
head and myself, and defended by Chester H. Krum 
and Henry A. Clover of St. Louis, William H. Hatch 
of Hannibal and Daniel W. Vorhees of Indiana. The 
Government called as witness many of the conspira- 
tors who had pleaded guilty. They were bitterly 
attacked by defendant's counsel, not only as confessed 
felons but as co-conspirators whose testimony could 
not be believed. The Government, as a matter of 
course, was dependent in a large measure upon the 
testimony of such witnesses for a verdict. All of the 
attacks failed and a verdict of '' guilty as charged" 
rendered. This was followed by a motion for a new 
trial, which was overruled by the Court. He was 
sentenced to six months in jail and to pay a fine of 
five thousand dollars. The whole business was a very 
serious matter but now and then something would be 
said by witness or lawyer that would for a time relieve 
the intense solemnity that pervaded the courtroom. 
For instance, while Louis Teuscher, a distiller, 
was being examined he was asked how he ran his 
distillery. He was a German and did not speak Eng- 



166 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

lish very well. He replied, *' Veil, sometimes straight 
but most times crooked." 

In addition to the criminal prosecutions begun and 
prosecuted against the distillers, they were sued on the 
bonds they had given the Government. When they 
began business the bonds were each in the penal sum 
of fifty thousand dollars. A judgment on each bond 
for the full amount was rendered by the Court, the 
total aggregating about two hundred thousand dol- 
lars. Most of these judgments were compromised 
by the sureties on the bonds. The exact amount real- 
ized to the Government I have not ascertained and 
cannot approximate. 

The trial that attracted the greatest atten- 
tion was that of the President's Secretary, Orville E. 
Babcock. In the course of preparation for this, tele- 
grams passing between the defendant, John McDon- 
ald and others were found and introduced in evidence. 
These had to do, principally, with the proposed 
investigations at St. Louis and the means adopted to 
frustrate and defeat them. The telegrams written by 
Babcock were such that no doubt was entertained by 
those engaged in the prosecution, that he knew all 
about the frauds that were being perpetrated and 
actively assisted the '*Ring" in carrying out their 
plans and purposes. 

The correspondence between Babcock and McDon- 
ald was quite voluminous, too large to incorporate 
here. Suffice to say that it showed the close personal 
relations that existed between Babcock, McDonald 
and Joyce, and further showed the important aid 
given by Babcock to prevent an exposure of the 
frauds then being perpetrated at St. Louis. 



The Whiskey "^Ring" 167 



In an examination of the files of the telegraph 
company, I came across the following : 

Washington, Dec. 13th, 1874 
Gen. John McDonald, Supervisor, St. Louis : 
I succeeded. They will not go. Will write 
you. 

(Signed) Sylph. 



I had no idea who ' * Sylph" was. I at once enclosed 
the copy to the Secretary of the Treasury. He pro- 
ceeded to get hold of the original at Washington and 
at once, without disclosing what he had found, wired 
me to come to Washington. When I got there he 
showed me the original which was in Babcock's hand- 
writing. This was the first knowledge I had of the 
possible connection of Babcock with the Whiskey 
Ring. 

Bristow was exceedingly cautious and impressed 
me wdth the importance of being so myself, lest injury 
be done to Babcock and incidentally to the administra- 
tion without further evidence. It was during this 
trip that I first saw Babcock. I called at the White 
House to pay my respects to the President, and was 
at that time introduced to Babcock. In the course 
of further inquiry it appeared that on one occasion 
McDonald enclosed in a letter directed to Babcock 
at Washington, a five hundred dollar bill and gave it 
to A. M. Everest (a collector for the ''Ring") to 
mail. This Everest testified that he did, in a mail 
box on the corner of Fifth and Pine Streets. If such 
testimony was not contradicted, it went far to prove 
that Babcock w^as sharing in the frauds. 

Babcock was defended by Chester H. Krmn, Emory 
Storrs of Chicago, Judge Porter of New York, and 



168 Autohiography and Remimscences 

Ex- Attorney General Williams. Under the guidance 
of Storrs, a letter carrier by the name of Magill was 
found who testified that he unlocked (at the request 
of McDonald) the letter box and returned to him the 
letter that Everest had mailed. On cross examina- 
tion it was shown that the box was not on Magill's 
route and that it was positively against the rules of 
the department for him to open it. The introduction 
of such a witness was a great surprise to the prosecu- 
tion. No time was had to inquire as to the character 
of the witness before the close of the case. After the 
trial, however, it was ascertained that Magill had 
been a soldier in a Rhode Island Regiment during 
the Civil War, had been court martialed and dismis- 
sed from service, etc. 

After the evidence was all in, Colonel Broadhead 
opened for the Government in a most excellent ad- 
dress. He was followed by Judge Porter and Mr. 
Storrs for the defense and I closed for the Govern- 
ment. All of the argiunents were fairly reported 
in the newspapers, but as I recollect there was no 
official stenographic report made. 

The burden of Judge Porter's address was what he 
called a defense of General Grant against the un- 
just attack on his Secretary, etc. Of course, there 
was no just ground for such a defense. No one had 
breathed a word against Grant. Porter had, for 
effect upon the Court and jury, built up a man of 
straw and proceeded in a most adroit manner to 
make it appear that Grant was the real defendant in 
the case. In answering Judge Porter, I attacked his 
man of straw and in doing so unwisely allowed myself 



The Whiskey ''Ring'' 169 

to tell a story. The story at the time seemed to fairly 
illustrate the situation. It was about as follows : * 'A 
young physician was called to see a woman in her 
confinement. After the young fellow left the house, 
he was asked by a neighbor how his patient was do- 
ing. He answered by saying : ' The child is dead, the 
mother will die, but by the grace of God I hope to 
save the old man. ' ' ' 

This story reached the President and I am quite 
sure that it did not strengthen me in his estimation. 

I was appointed United States Attorney by Presi- 
dent Grant in the vacation of the Senate. When the 
Senate met in regular session in December, the feel- 
ing against Bristow and the prosecution was so bitter 
that the President never sent my name to the Senate 
for confirmation. He could not remove me while the 
Senate was in session, but without delay he proceeded 
to do so when the Senate adjourned in August, 1876. 
He appointed William H. Bliss to succeed me. Bliss 
was an assistant in my office, but he was lucky enough 
to give no offense to those in power. 

General Bristow left the Cabinet of President 
Grant in (I think) April or May, 1876. He went to 
New York and engaged in the practice of law. The 
name of his firm was Bristow, Peet, Opdike and 
Burnett. The hostility of President Grant to Bris- 
tow continued and was caused solely by the relentless 
prosecution of Babcock, whom the President believed 
innocent of any wrong. 

In New York, after both Bristow and Grant were 
out of office, they chanced to meet in a public place, 
where General Grant openly insulted Bristow by 



170 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

abruptly turning from and refusing to speak to him. 
This hostility continued for a long tune after that 
occurred. 

What I am now about to relate was told me by 
General Bristow in his office in New York after the 
death of General Grant. He said that shortly before 
General Grant was removed to Mt. McGregor where 
he died, he received a note from him asking that he 
call at his residence in New York. This request, 
against the protest of Mrs. Bristow, he complied with. 
He found General Grant sitting in an invalid chair, 
all muffled up about the throat and head and suffering 
from cancer of which he finally died. As General 
Bristow entered the room, General Grant extended 
his hand and said: *' General Bristow^ I have done 
you a great wrong and I cannot afford to die with- 
out acknowledging it to your face. In the prosecu- 
tion at St. Louis you were right and I was wrong.'' 
Thus it was that the friendship between the two men 
was restored. As Bristow told me the story, his eyes 
were filled wdth tears. 

None but a brave and honest man would have done 
what Grant did. He tvas an honest man. He was a 
great soldier and a true patriot. Bristow was not 
only a great soldier but a statesman of marked abil- 
ity. Both rendered much service to the country, for 
which a grateful people are thankful. 



XI 

LATER YEARS 

Bach to Kentucky — Early and Present Day Travel 
— Election Frauds in Saint Louis — Appointment 
to Prosecute — President Cleveland Convinced — The 
1887 G.A.R. Encampment — President and Mrs. 
Cleveland attend the Veiled Prophet Ball— Fishing 
Anecdote — Gen. Joe Shelby. 

Wlien my father moved from Virginia to Missouri 
in 1841, with his family, he came through Tennessee 
and Kentucky, crossing the Tennessee and Cumber- 
land rivers not far from Cadiz, the county seat of 
Trigg County, Kentucky. Here in this county his 
brother, Joel Dyer, had come a year or so before and 
settled about ten miles from Cadiz on as poor land 
as there was in the county. The two brothers, David 
and Joel, had married sisters, Nancy and Mary 
(Polly) Sahnon. After stopping for a day or two 
in Trigg County, my father proceeded on his way to 
Missouri. From that tune to July 1857, my mother 
and her sister had not seen each other. In the mean- 
time, both brothers, David and Joel, had died. 

In the summer of 1857, my mother determined to 
go to Kentucky and visit her sister. At that time I 
was nineteen years of age and accompanied my 
mother on this trip. We first went to St. Louis, where 



172 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

we took a Cumberland Eiver boat for Lineport, a 
point where the two states, Tennessee and Kentucky, 
touch, reaching this place after a journey of two 
days and two nights. Here we obtained a wagon and 
in it drove ten miles to the place where my Aunt 
Mary lived. After staying there a few days, I se- 
cured a horse, bridle and saddle, and rode to Cadiz, 
the county seat. Here I found other kinspeople 
by the name of Terry. They were well-to-do and had 
received liberal educations. The eldest daughter, 
Mary Terry, had married Henry C. Burnett, who at 
the time of my visit was a member of Congress from 
the First (Linn Boyd's) District. He was a man 
of ability, and having married the eldest daughter of 
Terry, who had died some years before, was looked 
up to as the practical head of the family. Mrs. Terry, 
before her marriage was Ellinor Dyer, a daughter of 
Benjamin Dyer another brother of my father. In 
this visit to Cadiz, I made the acquaintance of all the 
members of the Terry family, one of whom was named 
Emma. She afterwards married John Grace, dying 
a few years later. Mr. Grace was elected Judge of 
the Circuit, and afterwards a Judge of the Kentucky 
Court of Appeals. He never married a second time. 
He died at Frankfort while holding court. His wife 
was a most intelligent and lovable woman. I named 
my oldest daughter for her — Emma Grace. 

There were four boys in the Terry family, Benja- 
min Dyer, Felix Grundy, Silas Wright and George 
Terry. Burnett nominated Silas to the Naval Acad- 
emy at Annapolis in 1859. The Civil War came on in 
1861. Burnett, who was a secessionist, left Congress 
and joined his fortunes with the South. All of the 



Later Years 17^ 



Terry boys, except Silas, went into the Confederate 
Army. Silas stood by his flag and ship and reached 
the ranlv of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy 
before his retirement and death. This is but one of 
many thousands of similar incidents that occurred 
in the border States during the war. He was the 
only one of his family, and I, the only one of mine, 
that served the Union cause during the strife, while 
all of the others were serving the South. 

Ten years later, in 1867, I made with my mother a 
second visit to Trigg County, Kentucky. We left St. 
Louis in a Tennessee River boat, destined for "Ag- 
news Ferry" on the Tennessee River. After being 
on the boat two days, we arrived at the ferry about 
two o'clock in the morning. The night was very 
dark, and after following a man with a lantern up a 
very steep bank, we reached the hotel ! ! ! This was a 
log house and the only residence in the place. There 
were a blacksmith and a harness-maker, but they 
boarded at the hotel. When breakfast was served by 
an elderly woman, the proprietress, there was an 
excellent pot of coffee. Two years had hardly elapsed 
since Lee surrendered to Grant, and the sectional 
feeling was still quite bitter and pronounced. I was 
not quite as cautious as I should have been while in 
the "enemy's country," and thoughtlessly compli- 
mented our hostess on the coffee, innocently remark- 
ing that "coffee was the only really good thing we 
had in the army." The old lady at once said, "What 
army was you in ?" When I owned up to being in the 
Federal Army she did not touch a mouthful at that 
meal. The blacksmith made bold to ask, "What is 
the politics of your Governor?" I answered, "Re- 



174 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

publican": his only further remark was, "God help 
the people." 

However, we went in a wagon across the narrow 
strip that separated the two rivers at that point (nine 
miles), crossed the Cmnberland River at Canton, and 
wound up at Cadiz, where I felt reasonably secure 
with Ben Grundy and George Terry, who had re- 
turned from the Confederate Army sadder but wiser 
men. After a ten days pleasant visit there and at 
Aunt Polly's in the country, we returned to Missouri, 
accompanied by Lucy, the youngest of the Terry girls. 
In going to Canton to take the boat, Lucy was accom- 
panied by Mr. W. C. White, in a buggy drawn by a 
splendid mule. She was a year later made the wife 
of Mr. White. He is now a leading and well-to-do 
citizen of Trigg County. 

In reviewing the incidents of the two trips to Ken- 
tucky, one sixty-four, and the other fifty-four years 
ago, I am brought face to face with a trip made in 
an automobile in August, 1921, from Memphis, Ten- 
nessee, to Grand Haven, Michigan, by a grandson of 
mine, Robert Hunting, and his wife and little son, 
my great grandchild. They crossed the Tennessee 
River at Agnews Ferry, and the Cumberland River 
at Canton, where I crossed fifty-four years before, 
they in a fine machine that ran at the rate of forty 
miles an hour and I in a wagon at the rate of five. 
They stopped in Cadiz long enough to see Mrs. M. A. 
McCarty, one of the Terry girls of my time. 

The changes that have been wrought in that fifty- 
four years, not only in the means of transportation 
but in every other way conceivable are most bewilder- 



Later Years 175 



ing, and it is hard to realize that we are in the same 
land. 

GROVER CLEVELAND 

When an impartial and truthful comparison is 
made of the various presidential administrations, 
that of Grover Cleveland will compare favorably with 
the best the coimtry has ever had. The people were 
fortunate in having his services, and they will be 
doubly fortunate if the high standard of official duty 
that he established is maintained. 

In November, 1880, Thomas T. Crittenden was 
elected Governor of Missouri for a period of four 
years. At that election, he was the candidate of the 
Democratic party while I headed the Republican 
ticket. At the election in November, 1882, a majority 
of Democrats were chosen to the Senate and House 
of Representatives, and they were in full control of 
the executive and legislative branches of the State 
Government. During the session that ensued, there 
was passed "An Act to provide for the Registration 
of Voters in Cities Having a Population of More 
Than One Hundred Thousand Inhabitants, and to 
Govern Elections and to Create the Office of Recorder 
of Votes, etc. ' ' This Act was approved by the Gover- 
nor on the thirty-first of March, 1883. 

The city of St. Louis was then, as it is now, largely 
Republican. The Democratic General Assembly and 
the Democratic Governor put their heads together to 
devise a scheme by which the Republicans of the city 
might be disfranchised, and Democrats put in control 
of the city government. An examination of the Act 



176 Aiitohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

above named will disclose the scheme planned and 
passed by the legislature, and approved by Crittenden, 
the Governor. It was a plot to put into the hands 
of the Democratic party the entire machinery for the 
registration of voters, the appointment of judges and 
clerks of election in the several wards of the city, and 
for the counting and return of the ballots. It was 
a partisan measure of the vilest and most reprehensi- 
ble character, and richly deserved and received the 
condemnation of every citizen who believed in an 
honest ballot and a fair count. 

Section 4 of that Act provided that a Recorder 
should be appointed by the Governor for the cities 
having a hundred thousand inhabitants for a term of 
four years from the first of January, 1883, and until 
his successor should be appointed and qualified, at a 
salary of twenty-five hundred dollars per year pay- 
able out of the city treasury of said city. 

Section 11 provided that ''An office for the regis- 
tration of voters shall be opened in each ward, etc., 
as shall be provided by the Recorder of voters, etc., 
and the Recorder of voters shall appoint such deputy 
recorder of voters as he may require, whose duty it 
shall be to register such voters of the respective wards, 
etc. " It further provides that the Recorder may ap- 
point such other clerks and deputies as he may deem 
necessary, and such deputies shall hold office at the 
pleasure of the Recorder. 

Section 13 provides that the Recorder shall appoint 
a Board of Revision, etc. 

Section 18 provides that the Recorder shall appoint 
the judges and clerks of election in each precinct. 

Section 21 provides that the Recorder within ten 



Later Years 177 



days after the election take to his assistance two Jus- 
tices of the Peace, who shall proceed to cast up the 
vote, etc. 

So it will be seen that the Governor appoints the 
Recorder, and the Recorder appoints all deputy re- 
corders to register the voters : that the Recorder shall 
appoint a Board of Revision and all the judges and 
clerks of election. 

The Governor appointed Clarence Hoblitzell, Re- 
corder, who had the absolute control of the election 
machinery in the city of St. Louis at and before the 
general election in November, 1884. How he dis- 
charged the duties of that office will hereafter be 
seen. 

Grover Cleveland was the Democratic candidate 
for the presidency that year and was elected by a 
very narrow margin over James G. Blaine. At the 
election in St. Louis the grossest frauds, under the 
administration of Hoblitzell, were perpetrated. 
These were so pronounced and so well known that a 
feeling of great indignation was aroused among the 
honest men of the city, irrespective of party. This 
led to the appointment by reputable citizens of a 
non-partisan committee to aid in the prosecution of 
the scoundrels engaged in the perpetration of the 
frauds. John R. Holmes, recently deceased, was 
chosen Secretary and Treasurer of the committee 
and Honorable James O. Broadhead was employed as 
counsel. 

Little progress was made in the State Courts look- 
ing to the prosecution and conviction of those impli- 
cated in the frauds. At that time a Federal Statute 
enacted by a Republican Congress and approved by a 



178 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

Republican President was in force, making it unlaw- 
ful to make a false registration of voters, or to falsely 
and fraudulently register and vote, or to fraudulently 
vote on the name of another, etc., etc., at any election 
for members of Congress or presidential elections, 
and provided heavy penalties for same. This was a 
wholesome statute and should be the law today. How- 
ever, the Democratic party when in power in Congress 
repealed the statute on the ground that it was in 
violation of the rights of the States, i. e. "State 
Rights." This statute, of course, gave to the United 
States Courts jurisdiction to try and punish those 
offending against it. 

The Republican party, although in control of both 
branches of Congress many years afterwards, never 
had the honesty and courage to re-enact that statute. 
Today the Federal Courts are without jurisdiction to 
punish repeating, false voting, false registration and 
the like. 

At the general election in 1884, as before stated, 
Mr. Cleveland was elected President over Mr. Blaine 
by a very narrow margin. Honorable A. H. Garland, 
of Arkansas, was his first Attorney General. 

The Citizens Committee before mentioned did all 
in its power with the aid of its distinguished attorney, 
Colonel Broadhead, to bring to punishment in the 
State courts the perpetrators of the frauds commit- 
ted at the election in November, 1884, but without 
avail. The committee found that the court machinery 
was practically in the hands of those who had con- 
ducted the frauds or were the recipients of place by 
such means. The efforts of Colonel Broadhead to un- 
cover the frauds and to bring to punishment the 



Later Years 179 



guilty ones coming to naught, an effort was made to 
have the Federal Court take up the matter under the 
statute before recited. Colonel Broadliead laid the 
facts before the President, Mr. Cleveland, and asked 
his aid. The appeal did not fall on deaf ears. 

Thomas P. Bashaw of Monroe County was appoint- 
ed by Mr. Cleveland, United States Attorney for the 
Eastern District of Missouri. It therefore became 
his duty to prosecute all violators of Federal laws and 
to bring to trial those who perpetrated the frauds at 
the election. After this appointment, the President 
(as I was told by Senator Vest) sent for Senators 
Cockrell and Vest and told them that he had deter- 
mined to have a full and fair investigation of the 
charges of fraud made by Colonel Broadhead and 
that he wanted it to be non-partisan in character. He 
then said, ''I have appointed upon your recom- 
mendation a Democrat for United States Attorney 
and I now want you to recommend a Republican to 
assist hmi. ' ' I was recommended and duly appointed. 

The first knowledge I had of this came to me on 
Monday, January 10th, 1887, through a reporter on 
the St. Louis Republican. On the twelfth of January 
I received the letter of appointment signed b}^ Attor- 
ney General A, H. Garland. I accepted this and at 
once took up before the grand jury, the charge of 
fraud alleged to have been committed at the Novem- 
ber election in 1884. The investigation was quite 
thorough and lasted for some thne, the State law 
requiring that each person registering as a voter 
should, in addition to giving his full name to the 
registrar or deputy recorder, give the place of his 
residence, his street, house number, etc. 



180 Autobiography and Beminiscences 

The grand jury ordered a subpoena duces tecum 
for the production of all the books of registration, 
poll books, etc., used at the election in 1884 in the 
custody of the city registrar. That officer was an old 
confederate soldier and an honest man. He responded 
with alacrity, and the grand jury room was soon full 
of the books and papers required, together with the 
lists of registration made by ward employes, most 
of whom were political "ward peelers." The in- 
quiry also involved an examination of the official pro- 
ceedings of the board of revision of wMch Hoblit- 
zell was chairman. 

To examine the thousands of names appearing upon 
the list of qualified voters, their places of residence, 
street and house nmnbers, imposed great labor upon 
the grand jury and the Govermnent's attorneys. 
Soon the fact developed that thousands of names 
appearing upon the lists of qualified voters, as shown 
upon the original registration books, were written by 
one and the same hand ; that is, many names on each 
of the election precincts in each ward were written by 
the same person. To ascertain the name of the party 
in each of the precincts who had written the names 
became the most important inquiry. 

Certain persons appointed by Hoblitzell were sus- 
pected. To prove the hand writing of such persons 
l3ecame absolutely necessary to convictions. This 
could only be done either by witnesses who were 
acquainted with the handwriting, or by witnesses 
who had seen the suspected party write. I employed, 
by the aid of the Citizens Committee, F. W. H- 
Wiesehahn, an expert in handwriting, who proved to 
be a master in his profession. The grand jury re- 



Later Years 181 



turned many bills of indictment. After tlie trial and 
conviction of several, others pleaded guilty. 

Those who stood trial and were convicted were: 
Egan, Prendergast, Morrissey, O 'Toole, Mallory and 
Multaney. Egan was sentenced to the penitentiary 
for two years, while the others were given shorter 
terms. 

The requirement of the State law that the place of 
residence, street and house number of the voter should 
be given, was diligently inquired into by the grand 
jury. It was found that the false and fraudulent 
lists of voters were given residences in vacant lots, 
saloons, bawdy houses and other impossible and dis- 
reputable places. From one of these alone (a bawdy 
house) there were thirty-eight names registered as 
legal voters, though there was not a man a permanent 
resident of the place. This was only one of many 
disreputable places where such condition existed. 

The manipulators of the false registrations and 
false voting used several city directories in getting 
the names of ''qualified voters." That of the city of 
Louisville, Kentucky, was the most extensively used. 
The first name appearing upon the list as qualified 
voters at the disreputable bawdy house above 
described, was that of the distinguished and well 
known Kentuckian, Luke P. Blackburn. The result 
of these frauds put men in office who were never 
elected and the "Sacredness of the Ballot" under 
Missouri court decisions was effective in preventing 
the opening of the ballot boxes and a consequent ex- 
posure. 

The frauds were many and most infamous, and the 
grand jury probed the matter to its very bottom. 



182 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

The law was so framed that it furnished a shield to 
the most guilty. The services of the Citizens Com- 
mittee and of Colonel Broadhead, its attorney, were 
invaluable, and of incalculable aid to the prosecution. 
After the trials were concluded, I went to Washing- 
ton to take up with the Attorney General the subject 
of my compensation and its payment. I took with 
me letters from Judge Amos M. Thayer, and others as 
to length of time the investigation had taken and of 
the character and importance of the work I had per- 
formed. On the morning after my arrival in Wash- 
ington, I called at the White House and for the first 
time met Mr. Cleveland. I told him the purpose of 
my visit, which was to get a fair allowance from the 
Attorney General for my services. I jocularly said 
that I came to him first with the view of enlisting his 
good offices with the Attorney General in fixing my 
fee. 

He replied by saying, **You know what Mr. Lin- 
coln said when appealed to, to use his influence with 
Secretary Stanton, ^I have very little influence with 
the present administration. ' " I told him of the 
letters I had to the Attorney General, etc. He said, 
*' Leave them with me, I want to see them, and as this 
is Cabinet day I will hand them to the Attorney 
General. ' ' He asked me to call again at three o 'clock, 
as he wanted to talk with me fully about the work 
done. Promptly at three I saw the President in his 
office. He asked me about the law and in what way 
the frauds were committed. I explained as fully as I 
could the law under which the registration and elec- 
tion was held and the facts as developed by the 
evidence together with the results attending the 



Later Years 183 



prosecution. He wanted to know if any Republican 
had been indicted and tried. I said, ' ' No. ' ' He then 
said, "This is a little strange, for Vest told me that 
you would as soon prosecute a Republican as a Demo- 
crat. ' ' I replied by saying that it would give me more 
pleasure to prosecute a Republican than a Democrat 
for stuffing a ballot box for they had been better 
taught. 

Then I explained to hun that under the law one 
man, and he a Democrat, had control of all of the 
election machinery so no Republican had the power 
to commit frauds at the election. This seemed to 
satisfy him and he picked up a bundle of papers lying 
on his desk and said, ' ' This is an application for the 
pardon of one of the rascals now serving a term in the 
penitentiary based upon the ground that he is suffer- 
ing from consmnption, and that his release is neces- 
sary to save his life." He threw the papers down, 
and with a stroke of his clenched, Presbyterian fist 
on his desk, said, ' ' The d — d scoundrel may rot before 
I will pardon him." 

The Attorney General adjusted my account and I 
returned to St. Louis. 

The result that f olloAved the exposure of fraud, the 
indictment and conviction of certain election officers, 
led finally to fairer and better laws during the ad- 
ministration of Governor William Joel Stone. 

In August, 1887, the Grand Army of the Republic 
met on annual encampment at St. Louis. To this en- 
campment the President of the United States and 
other distinguished officials, civil and military, were 
invited by the local committee of citizens having in 



184 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

charge all arrangements for the meeting and the en- 
tertainment of guests. This committee was com- 
posed of leading citizens irrespective of party and it 
numbered in its membership men who had served in 
both the Federal and Confederate Armies. 

Mr. Cleveland, as President, had found it to be his 
duty to veto many acts of Congress giving pensions 
to soldiers who had served in the Union army during 
the Civil war. This aroused much opposition and ill 
feeling among members of the Grand Army, led 
by one, Tuttle, candidate for governor of Iowa, 
1864, who made a vigorous protest against the 
President. The committee refused to pay heed to the 
protest and the violation stood. General William 
Tecumseh Sherman, then a resident of St. Louis, de- 
nounced in severe terms the action of Tuttle and de- 
clared, in a letter then published, that no loyal soldier 
of the United States would be guilty of an offense 
against the *' Commander in Chief of the Army and 
Navy. ' ' That, for himself, if the President came, he 
would take a place beside him in the reviewing stand. 
The President, learning of the protest, gracefully 
declined to visit St. Louis during the encampment, 
but graciously accepted for himself and Mrs. Cleve- 
land an invitation to attend the Veiled Prophet Ball 
early in October. The President and Mrs. Cleveland 
were present at the ball. While they were in St. 
Louis, other entertainments were tendered them, 
among which was a boat excursion on the Mississippi 
River. It was my great privilege and honor to escort 
Mrs. Cleveland aboard the boat on that occasion. 
She was a beautiful and accomplished woman, with 
a vast amount of good common sense. She conducted 



Later Years 185 

herself in such a charming, gentle and democratic 
way that she won the hearts of all with whom she and 
her husband came in contact. 

Mr. Cleveland was nominated for re-election by the 
Democratic Party in 1888, but was defeated by 
General Benjamin Harrison of Indiana. At the 
election in 1892, Mr. Cleveland defeated President 
Harrison and entered upon his second term on the 
fourth of March, 1893. 

I was a delegate at large from the State of Missouri 
in 1888 to the National Republican Convention that 
met in Chicago, and at that convention, I voted on 
every ballot for the nomination of Judge Walter Q. 
Gresham. Harrison was nominated on the eighth 
ballot, I think. I knew Judge Gresham quite well be- 
fore the convention met, and greatly admired him for 
his fine qualities of mind and heart. Before and 
after the convention we were good friends. He and 
Harrison were ''not in love with each other;" how- 
ever, he abided by the action of the convention and 
supported Harrison. 

In 1892 he supported Mr. Cleveland for the presi- 
dency against Mr. Harrison. Mr. Cleveland was 
elected and thereafter appointed Judge Gresham to 
the first place in his cabinet, as Secretary of State. 
The two became warm and congenial friends. Each 
of them was fond of a joke. On one of my 
visits to the Secretary, I told him of an Irish friend 
of mine in St. Louis by the name of Dooley. Dooley 
was a Democrat, but became greatly disgusted with 
Mr. Cleveland during his first administration. In 
the days of ''Soup Houses" I met Doolev on the 
street. He said, "Colonel, what is to become of the 



186 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

country ? " I answered that I hardly knew. He then 
said, "What is old Cleveland doing but fishing. I 
can buy more fish for twentj^-five cents than he can 
catch in a week's tune, and yet he leaves Washington 
while the country goes to the d — 1.'' 

On another occasion I saw Dooley and he said, 
*' Colonel, what is all this I see in the papers about 
* Paramount Blount' under the direction of Cleve- 
land putting a queen back on her throne in the 
Hawaiian Islands'?" "Yes," I answered, "they 
have put Queen Lil back on her throne and I am 
astonished that you, a Democrat, are making a fuss 
about it." He then replied, "I am opposed to all 
kings and all queens, and I am told that Queen Lil is 
morally unfit and nothing but a d — d nager at that." 

Poor old Dooley is dead and gone, but when here 
he gave me many an hour of keen enjoyment. 

Shortly after I told these stories to Judge Gresham, 
I went with him to the White House. He there in- 
sisted against my protest that I tell the Dooley stories 
to the President. Both the President and the Secre- 
tary seemed greatly pleased at the recital. 

During the second administration of Mr. Cleveland, 
General Joe Shelby of Confederate cavalry fame, 
was an applicant for United States Marshal for the 
Western District of Missouri. Many members of the 
military order of the Loyal Legion and of the Grand 
Army of the Republic in Missouri signed a petition 
to the President, asking for the appointment of Shel- 
by. He was also endorsed by many leading demo- 
crats of the State. General Shelby went to Washing- 
ton to urge his own appointment, and I happened to 



Later Years 187 



be in Washington at the same time. He knew of my 
personal relations with Gresham and asked me to 
solicit for him the support of the Secretary. I made 
an appointment to call with him on Secretary Gres- 
ham the following morning. This I did, and the two 
old soldiers, one a Federal and the other a Confed- 
erate, met for the first time. 

Gresham told Shelby that the appointment he was 
seeking belonged to the Department of Justice and 
that he did not think it would be proper for him to 
interfere. The meeting was a very pleasant one, and 
it could be easily seen that the heart of the Federal 
General went out in sympathy to the Confederate 
General. At the conclusion of this conference, the 
Secretary said he had an appointment with the Presi- 
dent and kindly asked me to accompany him to the 
White House. I accepted his invitation. After 
meeting the President, the subject of Shelby's appli- 
cation was mentioned and he was told that I favored 
it. The President asked me how it came that so 
many Federal soldiers favored Shelby's appointment. 
I laughingly said that inasmuch as there was but little 
chance for the appointment of a Federal soldier, they 
being republicans, they favored the next best thing, 
the appointment of a fighting Confederate soldier. 

The President then said that he had been informed 
that Shelby drank too much whiskey. I warded off 
this blow by laughingly saying that I did not suppose 
that that question would be seriously considered 
among Democrats. Shelby was appointed, made a 
most excellent officer and ''died in the harness.'' 

Altogether, my acquaintance with Mr. Cleveland 



188 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

was most pleasant. I formed a high opinion of his 
ability, honesty, integrity and courage. The country 
would be better off if there were more of his kind 
in official positions. **A public office is a public 
trust." 



XII 

CALIFORNIA AND THE WEST 

Gen. William T. Sherman — Departure for the West 
— The G. A. R. Encampment at San Francisco — 
Bishop Tuttle in Salt Lake City — My Colorado 
Legal Cases — Justice Miller and Judge Usher Clash 
— Gen. Sherman as Host. 

The annual encampment of the Grand Army of the 
Republic was held in San Francisco, in August, 1886. 

General William Tecumseh Sherman had been re- 
tired from the United States Army and was a resident 
of St. Louis, living in a splendid home on Garrison 
Avenue that had been presented to him by citizens of 
St. Louis, in consideration of the distinguished ser- 
vices by him rendered to the country during the Civil 
War. He was a member and the first Commander of 
Ransom Post, Grand Army of the Republic at St. 
Louis, which was named, upon the recommendation 
of General Sherman, for General T. R. Ransom, a 
distinguished soldier who served under him and who 
died in that service while on '^ Sherman's March to 
the Sea." 

I was one of the ''Charter Members" of Ransom 
Post and lived within three blocks of General Sher- 
man. It was my great privilege and honor to know 
him personally and I was, seemingly, a welcome visi- 



190 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

tor at Ms house. As the time approached for the an- 
nual encampment of the Grand Army at San Fran- 
cisco, great interest was made manifest by its mem- 
bers and by others, as well, who were attracted by the 
low railroad rates that were allowed for those visiting 
California at that time. General Sherman left for 
San Francisco in the early part of July. After 
reaching there, he wrote me the following letter : 

PALACE HOTEL 

San Francisco, July 7, 1886. 
Dear Dyer: 

I left St. Louis Thursday evening July 1, and 
arrived here yesterday at noon — four and one- 
half days — with as little fatigue as if from St. 
Louis to New York. 

I am very anxious that you should come out 
with the St. Louis delegation. Come by the 
Wabash to Omaha, thence by the Union & Cen- 
tral to San Francisco and straight to this, the 
Palace Hotel, the hest in the world. If I know 
of your coming I can make suitable arrange- 
ments for you and any of your comrades at this 
Hotel, and if crowded, which is hardly possible 
I can give you a good room in the suite assigned 
to me. Notwithstanding the allurements of this 
City and of California I am sure you will re- 
turn to old Pike with increased faith in its des- 
tiny — the treeless plains, the sagebrush desert 
and tin}" patches of green made bj^ casual 
springs, will make you love the land of the oak, 
hickory, walnut, etc., all the more. 

Last night, though still covered with the dust 
of travel, I had to speak to the Grand Army Post, 
and tonight must go to the California Pioneers, 
of which society I am one of the ancients, and 
must move on to secure the rest which I seek. 



California and the West 191 

Come and help me, for we must make the 
** cause" glorious and transcendant. 

Your friend, 

AV. T. Sherman. 

I had never been in California and upon the re- 
ceipt of this letter determined to go and attend the 
encampment. I decided to take with me my wife and 
my two oldest children, Erza Hunt and Emma Grace. 
Mrs. Ann Kercheval, a near neighbor and friend of 
my family, and Miss Nannie Broadhead, daughter of 
Colonel James O. Broadhead, my old preceptor, de- 
sired to go in company with us. 

Mrs. Kercheval was a daughter of Eleazor Block of 
Bowling Green. Block had several children, some of 
whom had gone to California the year of the gold 
excitement. They were Emanuel, who a few years 
before this trip died and was buried at San Fran- 
cisco, Elias, Sallie, who had been one of my wife's 
bridesmaids and had married William H. McCor- 
mick, and James N. Block. All three of the last 
named were residents of San Francisco. 

Mr. Eleazor Block in his lifetime had been the 
owner of slaves and one of these was a woman named 
Rachel. In addition to raising two children of her 
own, two sons, she was the nurse for each and every 
one of Mr. Block's children. Aimt Rachel's two boys 
grew to manhood and at the beginning of the Civil 
War enlisted in the Union Army. One of them was 
killed in battle and the other died of disease in camp. 
Aunt Rachel received quite a pension from the Gov- 
ernment on account of her deceased sons and this pen- 
sion was car^fuU}^ invested for her by William B. 
Dean, a son-in-law of Mrs. Kercheval. 



192 Aiitohiography and Reminiscences 

The old negress then lived in St. Louis and hearing 
of my proposed visit to California, came to my house 
and asked the privilege of going with me, saying, *'I 
always promised myself that if I ever had money 
enough to pay my way, I would go to the grave of 
Mars Emanuel and make a visit to my other young 
masters and to Miss Sallie in California." She said 
that she had plenty of money for her fare and wanted 
to go along with me and ''Miss Ann." Of course I 
said ''Yes" to her request and promised to see her 
safely through. 

The day to start came and with a full basket of 
eatables from each of the houses of Kercheval, Broad- 
head and myself, the party, including Aunt Rachel, 
took a train on the Wabash Railroad to Omaha and 
from there over the Union Pacific to San Francisco. 
Thousands of persons availed themselves of the op- 
portunities offered and went to California. I secured 
a berth for Aunt Rachel in the same car with the rest 
of the party. The roads were taxed to their full 
capacity in taking the great crowds across the plains 
and mountains. In passing through the treeless 
plains and sagebursh deserts, the attention of Aunt 
Rachel was called to the character of the land. Her 
only remark was, "I would not give one acre of land 
on the Bowling Green prairie for all that I see here." 

The Blocks knew of the coming of their sister, but 
did not dream of seeing their old Mammy, Aunt 
Rachel. When the train late at night pulled into 
Oakland, Elias, Sallie and Jimmie Block were wait- 
ing at the dock and greeted their sister and the rest 
of the white contingent with great warmth. Aunt 
Rachel had covered her face with a veil and stood 



Calif orma and the West 193 

back while kisses were being showered on others of 
the party. After a little while, I lifted the veil from 
the face of the old black Mammy. The scene that 
followed beggars description, and if any one there 
ever doubted the affection that existed between the 
''young masters and young miss" and the old black 
Mammy, it was speedily dispelled. God holds some- 
where in the great unknown a place where such spirits 
may meet. 

Arriving in San Francisco, my wife, son, daughter 
and myself went straight to the Palace Hotel. The 
rest of the party was taken in charge by friends. It 
was about midnight when I registered. The clerk 
recognized the name and said he, at the instance of 
General Sherman, had reserved for me two rooms. 
These were on the parlor floor not far removed from 
the suites occupied by General Sherman and his 
daughter. They were large and handsomely fur- 
nished. Having had some experience at hotels in 
Chicago and elsewhere with large crowds, and the 
prices demanded, I laughingly said to my wife, ''We 
may be able to stay here the rest of the night." 

Early the next morning I asked the clerk what 
rates he was making for these two rooms. I was 
perfectly surprised and greatly pleased to hear him 
say, "two dollars for each person." It has now been 
thirty-five years since I first went to San Francisco 
and it is but just to say that the Grand Army was 
never as well treated at any encampment as it was in 
that city in 1886. 

The two weeks of my stay were filled with inter- 
esting events. 

The address of welcome to the Grand Armv, made 



194 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

by a lawyer named Stewart, was beautifully eloquent 
and stirred to its very depths the patriotism of the 
thousands who heard it. His allusion to Senator 
Baker of California, who was killed at the Battle of 
Ball's Bluff, touched the hearts of all Calif ornians 
as did his allusion to California's most beloved son. 
Senator Broderick, who was killed in a duel with 
Judge Terr}^ The address was indeed a masterpiece. 
The proceedings of the encampment were interesting 
and concluded by naming, through the influence of 
General Sherman, St. Louis as the place of meeting 
in 1887. 

While in California we visited many places of in- 
terest including Monterey, Hotel del Monti, the Big 
Trees, etc. In San Francisco we watched from the 
Cliff House the great seals as they fought each other 
for places on the rocks that stood up above the waves 
of the ocean. In the Quartermaster's Steamer Mc- 
Pherson, we made the rounds of the Bay; saw 
Alcatraz, the great rock that rises to such height 
from the bottom of the Bay, and watched the teams 
and wagons ascend this rock over a road that had been 
carved out of its side. From Telegraph Hill we had 
a fine view of the Bay and of the Golden Gate. We 
also visited and were shown through Chinatown, one 
of the big sights in that day. 

After a two weeks' most delightful visit we started 
on our way home via Salt Lake City. Here we 
stopped for a day and night, took a bath in the great 
lake, visited the Mormon Temple, and in the after- 
noon drove out to Fort Douglas, an army post that 
overlooked, and whose guns commanded the city. On 
our way back to the hotel we called at the residence 



California and the West 195 

of Bishop Daniel Sylvester Tuttle and met him and 
Mrs. Tuttle for the first time. He had long been a 
Missionary Bishop in Utah, Montana and Idaho. In 
May before our visit, Bishop Tuttle had been chosen 
Bishop of Missouri. The convention was held in St. 
George's Church in St. Louis. I was one of the dele- 
gates from the Church of the Holy Communion and 
voted for Bishop Tuttle. 

In the evening our visit was returned by the Bishop 
and his wife. The next morning we took the Narrow 
Gauge Railroad for Denver and passed through the 
Black Canon and the Grand Canon of the Arkansas 
on the way. 

We stopped for a day at Colorado Springs visit- 
ing the ''Garden of the Gods," the Utah Pass and the 
springs at Manitou, but did not attempt to climb 
Pike's Peak. From there we returned to St. Louis 
via Denver. 

At this day the reference to and description of 
such a trip does not appeal to many. But at that 
time it was full of interest to those fortunate enough 
to make it. 

My first visit to the Rocky Mountains was in the 
year 1879. I went there in the interest of a client, 
to collect for him quite a sum of money from a gentle- 
man who had formerly lived in Missouri but who was 
then a resident of Colorado and largely interested in 
the mines at Leadville. I was not only successful in 
the matter that took me there but was employed by 
certain persons, including the one from whom the 
collection was made, to represent them in certain 
litigations then pending and others that threatened. 

This business required me to be quite often in Col- 



196 Autobiography mid Reminiscences 

orado. During these visits I became acquainted with 
some of the noted characters of that day. The most 
distinguished of the group was Judge Moses Hallet. 
He was the United States District Judge at the 
time and prior to the admission of the State into the 
Union had been territorial judge. After the dis- 
covery of silver at Leadville and elsewhere he sat in 
cases that involved millions of dollars. The State was 
full of adventurers, men who would not hesitate, if 
they could, to corrupt men in public position, if by 
doing so they could reap advantages to themselves. 
Hallet was brave and incorruptible. From the day 
he first went upon the bench, until the day he died 
not a breath of suspicion ever attached to any act of 
his as judge. He was of a type that present and 
future administrations should continually have in 
view. So long as our judges are honest in the dis- 
charge of duty, so long will the Government of our 
fathers endure. When the courts become corrupt, 
then free govermnent will cease. 

In company with Honorable John W. Noble, a 
distinguished lawyer of St. Louis and subsequently 
Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President 
Harrison, I went to Denver to attend a term of the 
Federal Court. Noble and I were together in quite 
an important mining case. 

On our way out, at Lawerence, Kansas, a car was 
attached to the train upon which we were travelling. 
We soon learned that it was the private car of Judge 
Usher, then the legal representative of Jay Gould in 
certain railroad properties in Colorado and other 
States. In the car with Judge Usher was Mr. Justice 
Miller of the Supreme Court of the United States. 



California and the West 197 

The Justice was going to Denver to sit with Judge 
Hallet. Both Usher and Miller were at one time 
appointees of President Lincoln, the former being 
made Secretary of the Interior and the latter a Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court of the United States. They 
were warm friends and both were personally known 
to General Noble and myself so we made a visit to 
them in the private car and were handsomely enter- 
tained. 

Arriving at Denver and going to the court room, 
we ascertained that a railroad case involving the 
right of way through the Grand Canon of the 
Arkansas was to be heard. The real parties in interest 
were, as I now remember, the Atchinson, Topeka and 
Santa Fe Railroad Company on the one side, repre- 
sented by C. Beckwith of Chicago as counsel, and the 
Denver & Colorado Railroad Company (at that time 
a narrow gauge road), represented by several lawyers 
whose names I do not recall. A state district Judge 
by the name of Bowen, who afterwards was a United 
States Senator from Colorado, had prior to this time 
appointed a man by the name of Hunt, receiver of 
the Denver & Colorado Railroad who was in posses- 
sion of the property. It was in this latter property, 
as I afterwards learned, that Jay Gould was inter- 
ested. 

The State Court having taken over the property, 
a question of jurisdiction arose as to whether the 
Federal Court had jurisdiction to determine the 
question of the "right of way" through the Grand 
Caiion. Justice Miller and Judge Hallet occupied 
the bench. The case was ably argued by Mr. Beck- 
with in favor of the jurisdiction and by several repre- 



198 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

senting the receiver against it. In the course of the 
arguments Justice Miller asked questions that clearly 
indicated that he was agreeing with Mr. Beckwith. 
When this became apparent to Judge Usher, the 
old-time friend of Justice Miller, he arose in court, 
without stating that he or his client, Gould, had any 
interest in the result and said, ''I desire to speak as 
a friend of the Court. I greatly fear that if the 
Court holds jurisdiction it will lead to bloodshed be- 
cause the State Court has already taken possession 
of the property and appointed a receiver. Such a 
conflict would be deplorable and as a friend of the 
Court I ask that it be avoided." 

This aroused Justice Miller and with great feeling 
he said, *' Judge Usher, do you intunate that the 
orders of this court, whatever they may be, will be 
resisted by any citizen of Colorado, or any other per- 
son ? I state to you that the orders of this court will 
be enforced if it takes all the powers of the govern- 
ment, civil and military, to do it. And if you or any 
one else interferes you tvill take the consequences !'' 
These were ''words with the bark on," and every one 
got ready ' ' to stand from under. ' ' A lawyer, who was 
a Jew said to me in a whisper, ''No taffy catches that 
old fellow!" The court retained jurisdiction, and 
ousted Hunt from the receivership. 

The case that Noble and I had, came on for trial 
before the two judges and the decision was in our 
favor. Our chief opponent was Judge Grant, of 
Davenport, Iowa, an old acquaintance and friend of 
Justice Miller. The Justice was very fond of Grant, 
as every one knew, but that fact had no bearing upon 
the case. Justice Miller w^as very fond of playing 



California and the West 199 

whist. After he had decided the ease in our favor, he 
invited Judge Grant, Noble and myself to come to his 
room for a game. We accepted the invitation and 
Judge Grant and I played against Justice Miller and 
General Noble. Grant and I beat them very badly, 
and at its close Miller said to Grant, "Well, Judge, 
you have beaten me at whist, but I hold over you in 
court, don't I?" Grant had to "acknowledge the 
com. ' ' 

Justice Miller had a great admiration for Judge 
Hallet. I heard him say in the Supreme Court at 
Washington one da}^, "I have as much confidence in 
Judge Hallet in mining cases as I have in Judge 
Treat in patent cases. ' ' 

Justice Miller was one of the greatest men of the 
Supreme Court. He was stern on the bench but as 
sweet and gentle as a child when off. Among the 
most important cases decided by him was that of 
Nagel, a deputy United States Marshal, who shot 
and killed in California Judge Terry, who was at- 
tempting the life of Justice Field. This occurred in 
a hotel between places where Justice Field held court. 
The State of California through its attorney, de- 
manded that Nagel be tried before a jury of the State 
Court. This demand was resisted by Nagel, who 
clauned that if tried at all he should be tried in the 
Federal Court. Thus the question of jurisdiction 
was raised. Justice Miller delivered the opinion of 
the court holding that the Federal court alone had 
jurisdiction. 

After this decision I met Mr. Justice Field in the 
office of the Secretary of the Interior, General John 
W. Noble. He was greatly pleased, of course, with 



200 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

the opinion of Justice Miller. He spoke of the kill- 
ing of Senator Broderick by Terry in a duel during 
the administration of President Buchanan. Terry 
was a southerner and an appointee of Buchanan. 
Broderick was a supporter of Stephen A. Douglas 
against Buchanan. The duel was sought by Terry 
and he challenged Broderick. Broderick was mortally 
wounded in the conflict, dying a short time after. 
Senator Baker delivered an oration at the grave of 
Broderick. Among other things he said, "The last 
words of Broderick to me just before his heart ceased 
to beat were, ' They have killed me because I was op- 
posed to slavery and a corrupt administration.' " 
General Baker was killed at Ball's Bluff during the 
Civil War. This oration by Baker and the opinion 
of Justice Miller were published in a pamphlet by 
Justice Field. Judge Terry was a man of ability, but 
was educated to believe not only in the right of one 
man to owti another but in the right to take the life 
of a fellowman for some real or supposed insult. 
Happily for humanity, such teachings have become 
offensive to all persons of education and refinement. 

Years ago it was the custom and practice of Jus- 
tices of the Supreme Court to visit their respective 
circuits and assist the district judge in holding court. 
Justice Miller frequently came to St. Louis and sat 
with District Judge Treat. He was in St. Louis 
shortly after Judge Brewer was appointed Circuit 
Judge, when all three sat in court. 

I invited these judges, together with a few lawyers 
of the St. Louis bar, to dinner at my home. Among 
the lawyers invited was my old friend and preceptor, 
Honorable James O. Broadhead. He ad\'ised me as 



California a^id the West 201 

to the particular kind of liquor to serve as Justice 
Miller never drank but one kind and that was whis- 
key, while Judge Treat never drank anything but 
brandy. Of course these were served at dinner. 
After dinner Justice Miller, Colonel Broadhead, Gen- 
eral Noble and Judge Thayer engaged in a game of 
w^hist in the back parlor, while the rest of the party 
indulged in a game for small stakes in the front 
parlor. I was in this game and became so deeply in- 
terested that I forgot to *'pass the drinks." Finally 
Justice Miller called to me and said, ''Dyer, have you 
forgotten what the Governor of South Carolina said 
to the Governor of North Carolina?" This was 
sufficient and his favorite brand was passed to him. 
Another amusing incident occurred at a dinner 
given by General Sherman complimentary to a con- 
gressional committee that visited St. Louis, composed 
of Governor Curtin, the "war Governor" of Pen- 
nsylvania ; Congressman Kellogg of Connecticut ; and 
James N. Burns of Missouri. A dozen St. Louisans, 
including myself, were invited. We were on hand at 
the proper hour but the guests of honor were not so 
prompt. After waiting fifteen minutes beyond the 
time for the committee to arrive, General Sherman 
said to us, "Gentlemen, walk out to dinner. I have 
waited longer than I should for the committee and I 
will wait no longer. ' ' We went in and were seated at 
the table and served with oysters and soup before the 
conmiittee was announced by the butler. When they 
came in Sherman said to Governor Curtin, its chair- 
man, "Curtin, you have been Governor of a State, 
Speaker of the House, and Minister to a foreign 
Court, and you ought to know when to come to din- 



202 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

ner I ' ' Governor Ciirtin was profuse in his apologies. 
Sherman then said, *'Take your seats, but you will 
not be served with oysters or soup, but start on the 
next course with others at the table!" And so they 
did. 



XIII 

OKLAHOMA, 1901 

Drawing of Lands in Kiowa and Wichita Reserva- 
tions — Fifty-thousand People and no Accommoda- 
tions — Report of the Committee — Twenty Years 
Later — Trip to The Yelloivstone, 1902. 

In June, 1901, I took my family to Grand Haven, 
Michigan, for the summer. The first visit I made to 
that place was in the summer of 1875, and this I have 
repeated (with the exception of two or three sum- 
mers) every year since. The climate is cool and pleas- 
ant, and I have never found any locality more desir- 
able for comfort and rest in the months of June, July, 
August and September. While practicing law, it 
f requentl)^ became my duty in summer to go back and 
forth at intervals. In July, 1901, I went on one of 
these visits to St. Louis intending to remain but one 
or two days and then to return to my family. How- 
ever, the morning I arrived, July 17th, I found under 
the storm door of my house, which was closed for the 
summer, notice of a telegram. At the telegraph office 
I found the following : 

Washington, D. C. 

July 15, 1901. 
Colonel D. P. Dyer, St. Louis, Missouri. 

Will you act as one of the Committee of three 
referred to in the President's proclamation, to 



204 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

supervise the drawing on the 29th instant for 
lands in the Kiowa and Wichita reservations? 
Compensation twenty dollars a day and expenses. 
Connnittee to meet at El Reno on the 26th instant 
to arrange details. Keep this confidential and 
answer quick. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary. 

Being absent from the city on the 15th, I did not 
receive the message. On the 17th, I received the fol- 
lowing ; 

Washington, D. C. 

August 17. 
Colonel D. P. Dyer, St. Louis. 

Important I should have immediate reply to 
telegram of the 15th. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretar}^ 

The weather at the time was exceedingly hot, and I 
hesitated to accept the tendered appointment. How- 
ever, I sent the following to the Secretary: 

Sorry my absence caused you inconvenience. 
If you think I can be of service to the Govern- 
ment, I will accept. 

On the 20th, I received this further message from 
the Secretary : 

Your appointment will be mailed you today. 
Your Associates will be Asst. Com. Richards and 
Honorable Frank Dale of Guthrie, Oklahoma. 

Then came the following : 



Oklahoma, 1901 205 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOE, 

Washington, M. R. B. 

July 18, 1901. 
Honorable David P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Sir: 

I have the honor to inform you that you have 
been selected by me as one of the committee of 
three persons to have the supervision and im- 
mediate observance of the drawing to determine 
the order in which registered applicants will be 
permitted to make homestead entry of the public 
lands in the El Reno and Lawton land districts 
in Oklahoma, and you are hereby appointed a 
member of said committee. You will be allowed 
a compensation of twenty-five dollars a day while 
employed in this service, with actual expenses of 
travel, and three dollars a day in lieu of sub- 
sistence. 

This action is taken in conformity with the 
President's proclamation of July 4, 1901, and 
the provisions of the law for protecting public 
lands from illegal and fraudulent entry and 
appropriation. 

(Stat. 56th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 1158.) 
You are requested to take and subscribe an 
oath of office, and to report at El Reno not later 
than the 26th instant. A copy of the President's 
proclamation is inclosed. 

Very respectfully, 

{Signed) E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary. 

On the twenty-second day of July I left St. Louis 
for El Reno and arrived there on the afternoon of 
the 23rd, where I found and became acquainted with 
my associates, Commissioner Richards and Judge 
Dale. Richards had been at one time Governor of 



206 Autohiography and Remin iscences 

Wyoming and Dale a Judge of the Territorial Court 
of Oklahoma, appointed thereto by President Cleve- 
land. They were both excellent men, one a Republi- 
can and the other a Democrat. There were also pres- 
ent a large force of clerks from the Land Office at 
Washington to assist in the drawing. This proved 
to be the most interesting public service that I had 
ever undertaken or been concerned in. 

The number of people attending that drawing who 
were actually present at the thne exceeded more than 
fifty thousand. They came from every part of the 
country, nearly everyone of whom was an applicant 
for land. Photographs were taken at the time of 
the members of the committee, of the platform and 
the boxes used and the vast crowd of people present. 
These photographs are in the Land Office at Washing- 
ton, but I was fortunate in getting copies for my own 
use. Those who care to may folloAv up this episode 
for themselves. 

The first gives a fair likeness of the three com- 
mitteemen, Richards in the center. Dale on his left, 
and myself on his right. The second gives a view of 
the platform and the boxes, and the third a partial 
view of the vast crowd in attendance. 

The vast territory comprising that great number of 
acres of land was at the time unimproved, and had 
been the home of roving bands of Indians and great 
herds of buffalo. The town of El Reno where the 
drawing was held, was a small place with only a few 
hundred inhabitants. More than fifty thousand per- 
sons gathered in and about this little town during the 
drawing. Many had arrived in every sort of con- 



OklaJwma, 1901 207 



veyance and thousands came on foot. They were 
there hoping to get lands upon which they could make 
homes. 

Men slept on the open ground, in the streets and 
alleys and in vacant lots. Houses were inadequate to 
shelter even a small percent of the "visitors." The 
water gave out in the principal hotel of the place, 
where the committee and clerks were quartered, as 
well as elsewhere in the town. Rather than run 
chances of taking typhoid fever (several of the clerks 
from Washington did take it and one or two of them 
died), I had a cot put on the platform where the draw- 
ing took place, and slept there instead of in the hotel. 
Of course, this platform where the boxes were put 
was well guarded by Deputy United States Marshals 
and ropes were drawn about it to keep back intruders 
so I was in no danger from outside interference. As 
I have said, men slept on the ground in front of the 
platform, as well as elsewhere. The night before the 
drawing began, two men spread their blankets and 
made their beds nearer to the platform than the rules 
allowed. My attention was called to them by a 
Deputy Marshal, and I was asked whether they 
should be removed. I told the Marshal to wait and 
see what they would do. After the beds were ready 
for occupancy, one, and then the other knelt in prayer 
and it had never been my fortune to listen to a more 
beautiful and touching petition than was then made. 
He, among other requests, asked God to direct those 
in authority to discharge their duties in such a way 
that peace, justice and prosperity would come to the 
people of the Territory, etc. I shortly learned that 



208 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

these men were missionaries from two different 
church organizations. It is sufficient to say that I 
did not direct the Marshal to remove them. 

In addition to other discomforts occasioned by the 
great number of people that came to El Reno, it was 
impossible to get a bath in the hotel or elsewhere. I 
found a most excellent bath house some five miles 
north-west of El Eeno. It was at an Indian School 
that was being conducted by the Govermnent. Old 
friends and acquaintances of mine, Colonel and Mrs. 
Jones, formerly residents of the State of Alabama, 
were in charge of the school. Colonel Jones had been 
an officer in the Confederate Army and had been 
appointed to the position of superintendent by Presi- 
dent Cleveland. I am glad to say that I contributed 
what influence I had with General John W. Noble, 
Secretary of the Interior in President Harrison's 
Cabinet, for the retention of the Colonel and his most 
excellent wife. At the time I was in El Reno the 
school year at the Indian (Comanche) School was 
in recess, and the children had gone to their parents. 
Thus I had plenty of room and most excellent baths. 

The drawing took place in an open street that 
faced a natural amphitheatre, which enabled the 
thousands assembled to see how the drawing was con- 
ducted. This public arrangement for the drawing 
was made by the committee for the purpose of satis- 
fying the people that the "deal was square," and that 
no favoritism would be shown. The boxes contain- 
ing all of the envelopes were so arranged that they 
could be turned over and over as the drawing pro- 
ceeded, and by that means the contents fairly mixed 
and separated. The first envelope taken from the box 



Oklahoma, 1901 209 



was handed by the boy at the aperture to Richards, 
who passed it to Dale, who, with a pair of shears 
opened it and took out the card containing the name 
and description of the applicant. This out of respect 
to my voice, Dale handed to me, and I announced it 
to the crowd. The person named in the card had first 
choice of the land in the district, to-wit: a quarter 
section or 160 acres. 

The man whose name was first read was a Vir- 
ginian by birth, his post-office address being at some 
place in the then Indian Territory. He was five feet, 
eight inches in height and had black hair and eyes. 
Being on the ground when his name was called, he 
made his way through the vast crowd to the front of 
the platform upon which we stood and was vigorously 
cheered by the great throng. 

I congratulated him upon his good fortune and 
undertook to "jolly" him as the boys would say. In 
substance I said to him, "You were born in the good 
State of Virginia, a State that was the birthplace also 
of Washington, Jefferson, Marshal, Lee and myself. 
I hope that you will honor that State by giving to this 
rich and beautiful territory a good and law abiding 
citizen and, if consistent with your political views, 
vote the Repuhlican ticket.'" These remarks created 
some merriment among the thousands of people there 
assembled. The fortunate fellow said, "I thank 
you for your congratulations but I can't vote the Re- 
publican ticket for I am a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat 
of the Brj^an free silver kind." This reply was re- 
ceived with great applause and I concluded that I had 
been worsted in the fight. 

The next name drawn from the box was that of a 



210 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

woman residing at Wichita, Kansas. In this way 
the drawing continued for several hours until the 
people saw how fairly the selection was being made. 
It was then continued rapidly by taking the names 
and posting them in several places on the grounds 
where they could be seen. This continued until the 
last name in the boxes was drawn. Of course, there 
were more applicants than could receive lands, but 
the names of all were drawn and numbered. Every 
acre of the more than two million, was selected. 
While much of the land was very desirable yet some 
was of little value. 

These lands had been ceded to the United States 
by the Wichita and affiliated bands of Indians 
(Kiowa, Comanche and Apache) under an agreement 
made with, by and through certain Commissioners of 
the United States, which agreement was ratified by 
Act of Congress, approved March 2nd, 1895. 

After the drawing had been completed, the com- 
mittee made a report to the Secretary of the Interior, 
which is quite full and fairly explains the manner of 
the drawing. It is as follows : 

Department of the Interior, 
United States Land Office, 
El Reno, Oklahoma, August 7, 1901. 
Sir: 

In pursuance of your letter of appointment, 
authorized by the Proclamation of the President, 
of date July 4, 1901, the undersigned Committee 
met at El Reno, Oklahoma, on the evening of the 
25th day of July. 

We foimd that the registration for the dis- 
tricts of El Reno and Lawton were nearing com- 
pletion, and in fact were completed at six o'clock 
P. M., July 26th. 



OUaJioma, 1901 211 



The final and complete registration showed 
that seventy-seven thousand, seven hundred and 
two (77,702) persons registered in the El Reno 
district, and eighty-six thousand, three hundred 
and eighty-four (86,384) persons in the Lawton 
district, making in the aggregate one hundred 
and sixty-four thousand and eighty-six (164,086) 
registrations in the two districts. 

We found as a matter of fact that at the time 
each person was registered an application was 
filed by the person registering, and that a card 
was made out by the officer in charge of the 
registration booth, and the same was signed by 
the applicant. On this card was written the 
land district in which the applicant desired to 
make homestead entry, together with such a 
description of the applicant as would enable the 
local land officers to readily identify such 
applicant. 

This card, when so prepared, was placed in a 
separate envelope and properly sealed by the 
person in charge of the registration booth. It 
bore no distinguishing mark other than was 
necessary to show that it was to go into the draw- 
ing for the land district in which the applicant 
desired to make entry. In the one case "El 
Reno" was printed in bold letters on the en- 
velope, and in the other ' ' Lawton. ' ' These words 
were the only distinguishing marks on the en- 
velopes. 

The envelopes were separated according to 
land districts and placed in proper boxes, each of 
which contained four hundred (400) envelopes, 
and the boxes were numerically numbered. 

Prior to the 29th day of July, we caused to be 
made two large wooden boxes, one of which was 
to be the receptacle for all of the envelopes 
marked "El Reno" and the other as a receptacle 
for all of the envelopes marked "Lawton." 



212 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Each of these boxes were ten feet long, two and 
one-half feet deep, and two and one-half feet 
wide, with an iron rod running the entire length 
through the middle of each box and fastened at 
the ends of the boxes. Iron bolts were placed in 
either end of the boxes and served as pivots upon 
which the boxes could be revolved. On one side 
of each box there were three openings (about 
two feet apart) for the purpose of receiving the 
envelopes. On another side of each box were 
five holes, large enough to admit the hand and 
arm of a person and through which the envelopes 
were to be withdrawn. These holes were covered 
with slides, except when opened for the purpose 
of withdrawing an envelope. 

On the morning of the 29th of July, at the 
hour designated in the President's Proclamation 
for the drawing, these boxes were taken upon a 
platform thirty-two feet square and placed in 
position for the drawing. This platforai had 
been erected under our direction, in a public 
street of the city of El Reno, and as near to the 
United States land office as was practicable, and 
in front of an open space of ground that rose 
gradually from the front of the platform. From 
this open space more than twenty thousand 
people could and did see the boxes and could and 
did witness the drawing that ensued. 

After these large boxes were placed in position, 
the paper boxes containing the envelopes were de- 
livered to us upon the platform immediately in 
the rear of the two large boxes. 

We caused lots to be cast as to the order in 
which the contents of these paper boxes were to 
be placed in the large boxes. The number that 
each box bore was placed in a receptacle and 
drawn by lot. When so drawn the contents of 
each box, as it was emptied, were scattered 



Oklahoma, 1901 213 



through the larger boxes, from which they were 
to be drawn. When all of the envelopes had been 
thus placed, the holes in the boxes were closed and 
the boxes themselves turned until the envelopes 
were thoroughly mixed. 

We selected ten reputable young men (five for 
each box), all of whom were under age and in no 
wise interested in the drawing, to draw the en- 
velopes from the boxes. 

The five holes in each box were given numbers 
and the young men cast lots for the place from 
which each should draw. They were placed ac- 
cording to lot and they again cast lot as to which 
should draw the first envelope. The young man 
who was at the hole numbered two, three, drew 
the first envelope from the El Reno box, and the 
young man who held number four at the Lawton 
box, drew the first envelope from that box. 

Twenty-five envelopes were first drawn from 
the ' ' El Reno ' ' box by the young men in the order 
named, and as each of these were drawn they were 
delivered, first to Mr. Dale of the Committee, who 
caused the same to be numbered. He then, in the 
presence of the spectators, opened the envelope 
and took therefrom the card and caused the same 
number to be placed on it, and then handed the 
card to Mr. Richards of the Committee, who in- 
spected the same and in turn handed it to Mr. 
Dyer of the Committee, who announced the name 
and description of the person to the people. 

The same course was taken in the drawing of 
the first twenty-five envelopes from the "Law- 
ton" box. 

After this the drawing continued at the plat- 
form from day to day until a total of thirteen 
thousand (13,000) envelopes had been drawn 
from the two boxes, one-half of which came from 
each box. During the drawing the names of those 



214 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

drawn were promptly posted on bulletin boards 
and in addition to the notice thus given, an- 
nouncement of the names were publicly made by 
criers designated for that purpose. 

After the thirteen thousand were drawn, as 
aforesaid, the boxes were removed to a building 
where the drawing could be more expeditiously 
conducted. The drawing continued until the 
afternoon of the 6th of August, when the whole 
number of envelopes deposited in the two boxes 
had been separately drawn and numbered. These 
were placed in the hands of an efficient force of 
clerks, from time to time, with instructions to 
notify, by postal card, each and every person who 
had made registration in the two districts. 

As far as the drawing, over and above the first 
thirteen thousand was concerned, the same could 
have been omitted and some expense to the 
Government saved, but it was deemed wise to 
draw out and number each and every envelope, 
to the end that every applicant might be satisfied 
that his name had been placed in the box of the 
district in which he desired to enter. 

We duly certified to the land officers at El 
Reno and Lawton the lists of names drawn from 
the boxes in the order in which they may file their 
homestead entries. This being done, we con- 
concluded that the purposes for which we were 
appointed have been met, and we shall return to 
our respective homes. 

In concluding this report we may be permitted 
to say that the force of clerks sent out from the 
General Land Office at Washington, proved them- 
selves to be efficient and faithful public servants, 
and we heartily commend each and every one of 
them to your consideration. The Department is 
to be congratulated upon the systematic order in 
which the registration and drawing were made. 



OUalioma, 1901 215 

A great majority of the vast number of people 
who were present before and at the time of the 
drawing were peaceable, law abiding citizens, and 
we are glad to report that there has been no dis- 
turbance of the public peace and not a life has 
been lost in the anxious contests of thousands of 
people for homes in the Territory. 

As far as we have been able to observe, the 
course purused imder the Proclamation of the 
President has been satisfactory to all peaceable 
and law abiding citizens who assembled here, and - 
the fairness of the drawing has been undisputed 
so far as we have been advised. 
We have the honor to be. 

Very respectfully, 

{Signed) W. A. Richards, 
David P. Dyer, 
Frank Dale, 

Committee. 
The Honorable, 

The Secretary of the Interior, 
Washington, D. C. 

As I have before said, the experience brought by 
my appointment as a member of the committee was 
the greatest I ever enjoyed. Over miles and miles 
of uninhabited territory at that time compared with 
what is there today, makes a marvelous transforma- 
tion. Then, nothing but wild and uncultivated land ; 
now, great fields of corn, wheat and alfalfa ; then, not 
a church or school house ; now, a teeming population 
with a school system unsurpassed, and churches 
erected to the worship and glory of God, whose 
steeples point the way to the place of everlasting rest. 

I had not been in that part of Oklahoma from the 
thne of the allotment in 1901 until March, 1921, a 



216 Autobio graphy and B eminiscences 

period of twenty years. At that time I was assigned 
to hold a term of the United States District Court 
at Oklahoma City. 

One Saturday afternoon w^hile there in company 
with my daughter Lizzie, then and now my secretary, 
I went in a trolley car to El Reno, thirty miles distant, 
and stood upon the very spot where twenty years be- 
fore I had stood when the lands were distributed. It 
will take a pen driven by a better hand than mine to 
properly describe the wonderful changes that have 
taken place within that period. Great cities, in- 
habited by intelligent, pushing men and women, and 
great fields cultivated by enterprising farmers, have 
taken the place of wild lands inhabited by thriftless 
Indians and untamed animals. 

Oklahoma is a great State and will grow greater 
as the years go by. All that she now needs is to get 
rid of a certain class of men who believe in the right 
to sit in the shade holding glasses of mint julep with 
a straw in each, a West Virginia stogy, and with 
negroes to wait on them. They are a set of good 
fellows but of no perceptible use and their allusions 
to what hapj)ened before and during the war may be 
interesting to them but to no one else. 

The Act of Congress of March 1, 1872, creating the 
Yellowstone National Park with an area of over 
thirty-three hundred square miles or more than two 
million acres, was a wise piece of legislation. 

There is no spot in the world, in my judgment, that 
has so much beauty and captivating gorgeousness as 
this park. 

Probably the most delightful, instructive and en- 
joyable pleasure trip I ever made was in July, 1902, 



Oklahoma, 1901 217 

to this place. Mr. George R. Peck at that time was 
the General Solicitor of the Chicago and Milwaukee 
Railroad, with headquarters in Chicago. Upon his 
invitation, a party of gentlemen met in Chicago for 
the purpose of making a trip to the Yellowstone Park, 
in company, with and in the official car of Mr. Peck. 
The party consisted of Judge John P. Philips of 
Kansas City, Missouri, Judge Smith McPherson of 
Iowa, Judge O. M. Spencer of St. Joseph, Missouri, 
Honorable John Allen ''Private John" of Tupolo, 
Mississippi, Mr. Rosington of Topeka, Kansas, Mr. 
Peck and myself. 

We met in Chicago on the morning of July 15, and 
were joined there for lunch at the Chicago Club by 
Mr. Justice Brewer of the Supreme Court of the 
United States. He was enroute to Milwaukee and 
accompanied the party that far. In the evening of 
that day most of the party went as far as Oconomowoe 
to be the house guests of Mr. Peck for the night. I 
remained in Chicago to meet members of my family 
the next morning. They were going to make the trip 
to the Yellowstone in the same train with the party of 
gentlemen above named. On the morning of the six- 
teenth of July my wife, two daughters, Lizzie and 
Louise, and my wife's sister. Miss Claudine Hunt, 
came from St. Louis, and my son-in-law, Mr. Hunt- 
ing and his wife and two little boys came from Grand 
Rapids. This made quite a family party. 

We left at 6:30 P. M. on the train for St. Paul 
At Oconomowoe the private car of Mr. Peck was 
attached to the train and we arrived at St. Paul in the 
early morning, spending the day there. The party 
of gentlemen, Mr. Peek's guests, took a look at the 



218 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Minnesota Club, while Mrs. Dyer and others of her 
party had lunch at the Ryan Hotel. 

At 10:30 P. M. the party left on the Noii;hern 
Pacific Railroad for the park. The trip across the 
country was uneventful, the train arriving at Living- 
ston at 7:00 A. M., the 19th. Here my family was 
joined by Colonel L. P. Hunt, XT. S. A. (brother of 
Mrs. Dyer), his wife and two children. We arrived 
at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, at noon. Here 
Mr. Peck's party was joined by United States Sena- 
tor Carter of Montana. Sunday was spent in sight- 
seeing in and about the Hot Springs. 

An amusing incident took place among Mr. Peck's 
guests. The party had played cards on the train and 
after arrival at the hotel. Here we found a woman, 
a Jewess, who seemed bent upon snapping with her 
kodak these guests of Mr. Peck on all occasions. Her 
activity in this regard became very annoying. There 
was a card room adjoining the bar on the first floor of 
the hotel. The gentlemen assembled in the card room 
and about a round table to play for small stakes the 
great *' American game." Shortly after the playing 
began. Judge Spencer withdrew and went out into 
the hall. No attention was given to this as his with- 
drawal did not interfere with the game. In a little 
while the door leading into the hall suddenly opened 
and the little kodak friend "snapped" the party. 
This gave great offense to some, particularly Judge 
Philips, who insisted upon the camera and the film 
being destroyed. John Allen, who was a member of 
the World's Fair Board, expostulated with the lady 
by saying, '^ Madam, I am holding office under a most 
strenuous administration (Roosevelt's) and if it were 



OhlaJioma, 1901 219 

known that I was playing cards on Sunday, it would 
mark the end of my distinguished and glorious career 
and utterly hmniliate me before my constituents in 
Mississippi/' The film was destroyed and the kodak 
went out of use. 

On Monday morning, the 21st, the whole party 
clothed with dusters and mosquito netting about the 
head, started in two '* Concord" coaches, drawn by 
four horses each, on what to me was a wonderful 
six day tour. The wonders of that park have been 
most beautifully described by others and I could not, 
if I would, add to it. 

The hotels were splendidly managed, the coaches 
were excellent and comfortable conveyances, and the 
distances between resting places were easy. The 
''roaring mountain," the deep gorges, the snow 
capped mountains, the playing of *'01d Faithful" 
and other geysers, the beautiful and placid lake lying 
in a valley seven thousand feet above sea level, the 
magnificent and unequaled falls of the Yellowstone, 
the great herds of elk and deer, and the numerous 
black, cinnamon and grizzly bears made a continuous 
panorama that was as strange and wonderful as it was 
varied and entertaining. No one who loves nature 
in its wildest form, will ever go to the park without 
wishing on some day, to repeat the visit. 

Altogether it was an enjoyable trip, for which we 
were all indebted to that splendid host, George Peck. 
The remembrance of the pleasure given me by that 
ten days of delightful association and wonderful 
sight-seeing, is saddened by the thought that all but 
two of the party that went in the car with Mr. Peck 
have passed into that undiscovered coimtry ''from 



220 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

whose bourne no traveller returns." Philips, Mc- 
Pherson, Allen, Peck, Rosington, and Carter have 
gone; Spencer and I remain. Others of that party 
who have answered the final summons are my wife, 
Colonel and Mrs. Hunt. The joy and pleasure of that 
trip will linger in my memory until the final trumpet 
shall sound the note that will call me to join those 
who have gone before. 

The carving out from the country's wonderful do- 
main so many beautiful ''play grounds," so many 
magnificent parks, are splendid monuments erected to 
the wisdom of the people's representatives in Con- 
gress that will not perish from the earth. How sig- 
nificant the remark of General Sherman in San Fran- 
cisco in 1886: ''The American people spend great 
fortunes in looking for wonders in the old world while 
they pay no heed to the greater ones in this." 



XIV 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT 

National Republican Convention of 1900 — Appointed 
TJ. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri 
— Senator Vest — Senator Burton — The Peonage 
Case — The White House, 1907 — Become TJ. S. Dis- 
trict Judge — Letters from the President and others. 

I was a delegate-at-large from Missouri to the 
National Republican Convention that met in Phila- 
delphia in 1900. It was this convention that nomin- 
ated William McKinley a second time for President. 
Roosevelt was then the Governor of the State of New 
York, and it was well known that he did not stand in 
great favor with the political bosses of that State, 
especially with Senator Piatt. They were anxious 
to get rid of him and sought to do so by having him 
nominated for Vice-President on the ticket with Mc- 
Kinley. Roosevelt understood the purpose of his 
enemies and was reluctant to become a candidate for 
Vice-President, but the better element of the Re- 
publican party also sought his nomination, though 
for a different reason than that of the disreputable 
bosses. The bosses disliked him because he was hon- 
est, fearless, courageous, and independent, while the 
people, good, sincere, and patriotic citizens, loved him 
because of these qualities. 



222 Aiitohio grapliy and Reminiscences 

During the proceedings of the convention, Colonel 
Roosevelt delivered a most forceful and eloquent 
address. This was my first opportunity to see him 
"in action." The straightforward way in which he 
declared his principles caught the enthusiastic ap- 
proval of his hearers and stamped him the leader of 
patriotic thought and genuine Americanism. The 
re-election of President McKinley to the presidency 
and the election of Colonel Roosevelt as Vice-Presi- 
dent followed in November. 

The death of McKinley at the hands of an assassin 
in 1901 was followed by the elevation to the presi- 
dency of Theodore Roosevelt. What transpired in 
the course of his successorship to the vacancy, and of 
his election in 1904, it is not my purpose to particular- 
ize; I simply wish to make brief allusions to the 
IDcrsonal and official relations that existed between 
him and myself. 

I never saw the Colonel after the Philadelphia 
Convention until I met him in the White House in 
December, 1901. This visit was brought about at the 
instance of some friends who were interested in the 
appointment of a suitable person to the position of 
Collector of the Port at St. Louis. 

The appointment of Judge Gallenkamp of Franklin 
County to that position shortly followed my visit, 
kindly arranged by Secretary Ethan Allen Hitchcock. 
Beyond the collectorship no other matter was dis- 
cussed. My visit was at 9:00 P. M., and upon my 
arrival at the White House the great friend of the 
President, General Leonard Wood, was just leaving. 
A slap on the back and "good-night, old fellow, '^ was 
what I heard when I entered the Red Room. 



Theodore Roosevelt 223 



In January, 1902, without any solicitation on my 
part nor, so far as I know, on the part of any of my 
friends, the President announced my appointment 
as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of 
^lissouri. My name was sent to the Senate for con- 
firmation. Missouri at that time was represented in 
the Senate by George Graham Vest and Francis Mar- 
ion Cockrell. 

The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee to which 
my nomination was referred was Judge Hoar of 
Massachusetts. He, of course, made inquiries of the 
Missouri senators as to the propriety of my confirma- 
tion. It gives me more pleasure than I can express 
to give here the letters of my old friend Senator Vest 
in reference to my confirmation : 

UNITED STATES SENATE 
Committee on 
Public Health and National Quarantine, 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 18, 1902. 
My Dear Dyer : 

Enclosed find correspondence between Senator 
Hoar, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee 
and myself, which shows the result of our long 
friendship. 

Sorry I did not see you when in Washington. 

Your friend, 

G. G. Vest. 
Col. D. P. Dyer, 
St. Louis, Mo. 

Enclosure : 
Letter to Hoar. 



224 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

Committee of 
Public Health and National Quarantine 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 18, 1902. 
Hon. George F. Hoar, 

U. S. Senate. 
My dear Senator : 

Yours making inquiry as to Col. D. P. Dyer 
has been received. I have known Col. Dyer for 
many years and while we have never agreed 
politically, I take great pleasure in stating that 
no man in Missouri stands higher in public 
estimation. He is in every respect qualified for 
the position to which he has been nominated and 
will make a most efficient officer. He is a fine 
lawyer; has had great experience in his profes- 
sion and has filled the office, for which he is now 
named, heretofore, with great ability. 

I heartily endorse his nomination. 

Yours truly, 

G. G. Vest. 

Vest and I never agreed in politics but were at all 
times personal friends. He has gone to his final 
account, and I hope and pray that his great soul is 
at perfect peace. 

He had no superior in the realm of popular de- 
bate. He was an orator of magnetic power and pos- 
sessed a vein of humor that was unmatched. He could 
move assemblies to tears by his pathos and to unsup- 
pressed hilarity by the drollery of his stories. His 
friendship I greatly prized and his death I much 
deplored. The last time I saw him was at the resi- 
dence of his son-in-law, Mr. Jackson, in Thornby 
Place, St. Louis. He was weak in body, but strong 
in intellect. He was removed to Sweet Springs in 



Theodore Roosevelt 225 



Saline County shortly after that time, where, in a 
few weeks he died. He was so charming and lovable 
in his manners and conversation that I hate to stop 
here without saying more of him than I have. 

The Senate promptly confirmed me and in Febru- 
ary, 1902, 1 entered upon the duties of my office. In 
1906, 1 was re-appointed U. S. Attorney. 

Judge Adams said: "It is with great pleasure, 
Colonel Dyer, that this court receives your commis- 
sion for another term of the office of United States 
District Attorney. It was my privilege to preside 
in this court most of the time during the period of 
your last incumbency, and during that period cases 
of great magnitude and public importance were dis- 
posed of — that fact is well known to the members of 
this bar and to the community in general. I will 
further say that during all that time your services 
rendered in those cases were services of the most 
valuable and important character. I feel that noth- 
ing can be said to add to the lustre of the reputation 
which you achieved during the last four years. I 
need not specify any particular cases ; they are well 
known without mention to any one who will stop to 
reflect and equally well known are the ability, fear- 
lessness and impartiality with which you discharged 
your duties with respect to them. 

"It is therefore with very great pleasure that we 
note the recognition given by your reappointment to 
the patriotic services rendered by you to this com- 
munity and to this country. I will now administer 
the oath of office to you." 

Judge Finkelnburg said : ' ^ Colonel Dyer, I cannot 
let the occasion go by without adding a word to what 



226 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

has already been so well said by Judge Adams. I 
want to say that while I have not been on the bench 
very long, I have been at the bar quite a long period 
of time, and so I am able to say that I greatly appre- 
ciate the able and faithful services which you have 
rendered to the Government during your past term 
of office. 

*'I congratulate you and congratulate the Govern- 
ment upon your reappointment. May your next term 
of office be as successful, as able, and I hope as pleas- 
ant, as the past has been. I feel that with you as 
United States Attorney, the interests of the Govern- 
ment in this District are well taken care of ; and that 
as in the past, you will take care of the interests of 
the Government, and of the people without fear and 
without favor, avoiding all unnecessary prosecution 
and striving only and truly to serve the ends of jus- 
tice. Again I congratulate you. ' ' 

To these I made reply as follows: ^*I thank your 
Honors more than I can say for this expression of 
confidence. Without a faithful, upright and able 
Judge on the bench the District Attorney is absolutely 
helpless. Whatever success has attended the years 
I have occupied this position is more attributable to 
the able manner in which the duties of Judge have 
been performed on this bench than to anything I 
have done or could do. 

"I have tried only to do my duty. Mistakes have 
come to me as they are likely to come to any other 
officer, but I can truly say to your Honors that in the 
discharge of every obligation imposed upon me, I have 
tried only to do my duty ; to prosecute no one througli 
hatred, malice or ill-will, nor leave any unprosecuted 



Theodore Eoosevelt 227 

through fear, favor or affection. So long as I am in 
this office that shall be my line of action. Faithfulness 
to duty is the best heritage I can leave to my children 
and my friends. 

*'I thank your Honors for the kind and generous 
words you have been pleased to speak. ' ' 

THE BURTON CASE 

No more unpleasant and important duty was im- 
posed upon me while holding the position of United 
States Attorney than the prosecution of Senator 
Burton. He was a man of ability and possessed a 
charm of manner that was both fascinating and cap- 
tivating. He had many quite devoted friends and it 
was hard to resist the interest they took in hun. I 
wished many tunes that the facts as well as the law 
were in his favor, instead of against him as they were. 
In such cases the prosecuting officer is brought face 
to face with dtiti/ upon the one hand and sympathy 
on the other. It was so in this instance. 

In 1903 and in 1904 a corporation by the name of 
*^Rialto Grain and Securities Company" was en- 
gaged in business in the city of Saint Louis. It was 
what was popularly known as a *' Get-rich-quick" 
concern. The Post Office establishment of the United 
States, through its officers, was proceeding against 
the corporation to have it debarred from the use of the 
United States mails on the ground that it was for 
the purpose of obtaining money and property fraudu- 
lently from individuals, making false and fraudulent 
representations in its letters and other writings, etc., 
then and there being sent through the mails. The 
proceeding was pending before the Postmaster Gen- 



228 Autobiography and Beminiscences 

eral at Washington. The prosecution of Senator 
Burton was founded upon the following sections of 
the Statute: 

Sec. 3929. The Postmaster General may, upon 
evidence satisfactory to him that any person or 
company is engaged in conducting any lottery, 
gift enterprise, or scheme for the distribution of 
money, or of any real or personal property by 
lot, chance, or drawing of any kind, or that any 
person or company is conducting any other 
scheme or device for obtaining money or property 
of any kind through the mails by means of false 
or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or 
promises, instruct postmasters at any post office 
at which registered letters arrive directed to any 
such person or company, whether such agent or 
representative is acting as an individual or as a 
firm, bank, corporation, or association of any 
kind, to return all such registered letters to the 
postmaster at the office at which they were orig- 
inally mailed, with the word ** Fraudulent" 
plainly written or stamped upon the outside 
thereof ; and all such letters so returned to such 
postmasters shall be by them returned to the 
writers thereof, under such regulations as the 
Postmaster General may prescribe . . . 

Sec. 4041. The Postmaster General may, upon 
evidence satisfactory to hun that any person or 
company is engaged is conducting any lottery, 
gift enterprise, or scheme for the distribution of 
mone}" or of any real or personal property by lot, 
chance, or drawing of any kind, or that any per- 
son or company is conducting any other scheme 
for obtaining money or property of any kind 
through the mails by means of false or fraudulent 
pretenses, representations, or promises, forbid 
the pajanent b}^ any postmaster to said person or 
company of any postal money orders drawn to 



Theodore Roosevelt 229 

his or its order, or in his or its favor, or to the 
agent of any snch person or company, whether 
such agent is acting as an individual or as a firm, 
bank, corporation, or association of any kind, and 
may provide by regulation for the return to the 
remitters of the sums named in such money or- 
ders . . . 

The proceedings before the Postmaster General 
were to obtain and have issued by him a ''fraud 
order" denying to the corporation the use of the 
mails. While these proceedings were pending, Bur- 
ton was employed by the corporation as its attorney 
and representative, and agreed to receive from it the 
sum of $2,500.00 for services to be rendered by him 
for the Rialto Grain and Securities Company in re- 
lation to a proceeding, matter and thing in which the 
United States was interested before the Post Office 
Department. 

Section 1782 of the Revised Statute is as follows: 

Sec. 1782. No Senator, Representative or 
Delegate, after his election and during his con- 
tinuance in office, and no head of a Department, 
or other officer or clerk in the employ of the Gov- 
ernment, shall receive or agree to receive any 
compensation whatever, directly or indirectly, 
for any services rendered, or to be rendered, to 
any person, either by himself or another, in re- 
lation to any proceeding, contract, claim, contro- 
versy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other matter 
or thing in which the United States is a party, 
or directly or indirectly interested, before any 
Department, court martial, bureau, officer, or any 
civil, military, or naval commission whatever. 
Every person o:ffending against this section shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be 
imprisoned not more than two years, and fined 



230 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

not more than ten thousand dollars, and shall, 
moreover, by conviction therefor, be rendered 
forever thereafter incapable of holding any of&ce 
of honor, trust, or profit under the Government 
of the United States. 

Under this section of the statute the grand jury 
found an indictment against Burton. He was 
arraigned and pleaded not guilty. A trial was held 
before Judge Elmer B. Adams and a jury, and Bur- 
ton was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment 
in jail and to pay a fine. The case was taken by the 
defendant to the Supreme Court of the United States. 
The court reversed the lower court, and a new trial 
was ordered. 

The case, or substantially the same case, was again 
tried before Judge (now Justice) Willis Van Devan- 
ter and a jury, and the defendant was again con- 
victed. The sentence imposed by Judge Van Devanter 
was six months in the Iron County Jail and twenty- 
five hundred dollars fine, and by such conviction there- 
after rendered incapable of holding any office of 
honor, trust, or profit, under the Government of the 
United States. The case was again taken to the 
Supreme Court of the United States hy the defen- 
dant. In a decision by that court through Justice 
John Marshall Harlan, the case was affirmed. Sena- 
tor Burton paid the fine and served the term in jail 
imposed by the court. 

In the trial before Judge Van Devanter, I was 
assisted by Judge Charles H. Robb, Assistant At- 
torney General, and the Government's case was ably 
presented by him to the court and jury and thereafter 
before the Supreme Court of the United States. Bur- 



Theodore Roosevelt 231 

ton was ably defended by Honorable John F. Dillon, 
Balie P. Waggener, and F. W. Lebmann. The case 
is fully reported in Volume 202 of United States 
Reports. 

THE PEONAGE CASE 
During my term, many cases of importance came to 
the attention of the court and the country that were 
prosecuted by me, the most notable of which arose 
during the year 1906 in the Southeastern Division of 
this Judicial District and was popularly known as the 
'* Peonage Case.'' 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Plaintiff, 

V. 

Charles M. Smith Sr., 

Charles M. Smith Jr., 

William Woods, 

Floyd Woods, 

Benjamin Field, 

Benjamin Stone and 

W. Lee Rodgers, Defendants. 

In May or June, 1906, a letter from a citizen and 
public officer of southeast Missouri was forwarded to 
me from Jefferson City by Governor Folk, calling 
his (the Governor's) attention to what was termed 
'*an appalling condition existing in that section of 
the State." 

The letter purported to give the facts bearing upon 
the manner in which more than fifty negro men were 
being inlimnauly treated by certain parties. I could 
hardl}^ believe these statements for the reason that it 
seemed incredible that cruelties such as he described 
could occur in the State of Missouri. However, I 



232 Autobiograpliy and Reminiscences 

concluded to put on foot an investigation, and di- 
rected William L. Morsey, the then United States 
Marshal, and Horace L. Dyer, an Assistant United 
States Attorney, to make the investigations. 

These officers went during the night to the locality 
where it was alleged the crimes were being perpe- 
trated. They discovered a much more serious condi- 
tion existing than had been reported. They found 
sick negroes locked in miserable shacks, and others 
made to work in ditches for the drainage of lands, 
under armed men. These ditches were partly filled 
with water, and at night the negroes were driven like 
so many cattle to these filthy quarters and locked up, 

A grand jury was ordered to meet at Cape Girar- 
deau in the Southeast Division of the District for the 
purpose of making an investigation. This took place 
and bills of indictment were returned against the 
above named. They were men of means and influence 
in that section of the State. 

The cases came on for trial in September, 1906, be- 
fore Honorable John C. Pollock, United States Dis- 
trict Judge for the State of Kansas, who had been 
duly assigned to try these by the Presiding Judge of 
the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 
as the health of Judge Finkelnberg of the Eastern 
District of Missouri was such that he was not able 
to sit in the trial. At the trial, the Government was 
represented by me and my assistant, Horace L. Dyer. 
The defense was ably represented by Judge Chester 
H. Krum, Moses Whybark, W. H. Miller and Oliver 
& Oliver. The indictments were drawn under Sec. 
5508 of the Re^dsed Statutes, which is as follows: 

If two or more persons conspire to injure. 



. Theodore Roosevelt 233 

oppress, threaten, or intimidate anv citizen in 
the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or 
privilege secured to him by the Constitution or 
laws of the United States * * * they shall be 
lined not more than five thousand dollars and im- 
prisoned not more than ten years; and shall 
morever, be thereafter ineligible to any office or 
place of honor, profit, or trust created by the 
Constitution or laws of the United States/' 

The evidence at the trial tended to show: 

"That it was difficult to secure and keep 
laborers to do the necessary work of clearing and 
cultivating Smith's land ; that in the early spring 
of 1906, Charles M, Smith, Jr., went to Memphis, 
lennessee, and secured 15 or more negroes 
among whom was John Reed, the citizen named 
in the eleventh count of the indictment, whom he 
induced by promises of liberal wages to go with 
hun to Sikeston, Missouri, to work, as he repre- 
sented to them, in a flour mill ; that he transported 
them by railroad from Memphis to Sikeston in 
the night, arriving there at 1 or 2 o'clock in the 
morning ; that on arrival there hacks were await- 
ing them into which the negroes were immedately 
loaded m gangs of ^ve each ; that they were there- 
upon driven in charge of defendant Charles M. 
T^ ^-.o ^''.^^^ accompanied them a distance of 
about 12 miles to what is known as the ''Woods' 
Place " where they were delivered over to the 
custody of William Woods, Floyd Woods Ben- 
jamin Field, and Benjamin Stone, called 'in the 
evidence the "overseer" and "night" and "day" 
guards, respectively ; that they were first searched 
tor concealed weapons, which, when found, were 
taken from them ; that they were then (it still be- 
ing dark) put into a roughly built, filthy cabin 
caUed m the evidence a "shack," where bunks 



234 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

were provided for them ; that the windows of this 
shack were cross-barred by heavy two-by-four 
pieces of timber, and these were covered over 
with barbed wire ; that guards with six-shooters 
and repeating rifles were stationed over them at 
night while in the shack to prevent possible 
escape and by day while out of the shack to make 
them work and prevent escape; that the most 
cruel and brutal punishment was inflicted upon 
them for pretended infraction of rules, but more 
often for the purpose of forcing them to the last 
extremity of possible service ; that they were kept 
at work constantly, except Sundays, always un- 
der guard, in digging ditches, rolling logs, and 
doing other necessary work on the place ; that on 
Sundays they were kept confined in their shack 
under guard ; that few, if any, of them received 
the promised wages ; that some from time to time 
made their escape at the risk of their lives. The 
treatment of these negroes had its counterparts at 
other times and in other places on the Smith 
farms; and these afford much corroborative 
evidence of the unlawful intent with which the 
gang of negroes in question was restrained. 
From all the evidence, which we have carefully 
examined, there can be no doubt of the main facts 
briefly epitomized above. The jury by their ver- 
dict have put the stamp of verity upon them. 
That such flagrant violation of law, such shame- 
less inhumanity and brutality, such base dishonor 
to American citizenship could be deliberately 
practiced in a civilized and Christian community 
by intelligent men is a reproach to our civiliza- 
tion, and challenges instant and vigorous protest 
and action by all right-minded men." 

The foregoing statement of facts is taken from the 



Theodore Roosevelt 235 

opinion of Judge Adams of the Court of Appeals, 
as it appears in the Reporter. 

After a trial lasting nearly two weeks, the de- 
fendants were convicted on only one of several counts 
in the indictment, although the testimony was prac- 
tically the same on all the counts. This result as 
was afterwards ascertained, came about in a com- 
promise with one juror. Eleven of the twelve were 
in favor of conviction on all the counts, while one 
was in favor of acquittal on each. He finally con- 
sented to a verdict on one count. 

Judge Pollock sentenced each of the defendants 
to a fine and a term of imprisonment in the peni- 
tentiary at Leavenworth. Writs of error were sent 
out and the cases were heard in the Court of Appeals. 
The decision of that court was handed down on the 
twelfth of November, 1907. 

The court consisted of Judge Van Devanter, now 
Justice Van Devanter of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, Judge Ehner B. Adams, and Judge 
Riner. The judgment of Judge Pollock was affirmed 
in an opinion by Judge Adams. 

This case was one of the most, if not the most, im- 
portant which it became my duty to prosecute. It 
attracted great attention throughout the whole coun- 
try. 

The success attending this prosecution possibly had 
something to do with my appointment as Judge by 
President Roosevelt. 

In January, 1907, Judge G. A. Finkelnburg, then 
the U. S. District Judge, notified me of his intention 
to resign the first day of the following April. This 
news was given to me while we were at luncheon to- 



236 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

gether at McTague's Restaurant. I spoke of it the 
same day to some of my close personal friends who 
insisted that I become a candidate to fill the vacancy. 
That night I wired my friend, Senator William 
Warner, at Washington, of the proposed resigna- 
tion and asked his support. He at once replied by 
saying that he would be glad to go with me to the 
President. 

The next day, in company with my old friend, Wil- 
liam L. Morsey, then United States Marshal, I started 
for Washington. Upon my arrival in the evening 
I went at once to the rooms of Senator Warner and 
had a satisfactory talk with him about the position. 
It was agreed between us that at 10:00 o'clock the 
next morning we would call on President Roosevelt, 
which we did. Warner introduced the subject of our 
visit about as follows : 

*'Mr. President, Judge Finkelnburg of St. Louis 
has notified Colonel Dyer of his intention to resign 
on the 1st of April, next, and I am here to ask you to 
appoint my old friend Colonel Dyer as his successor.'' 
Without a moment's hesitation the President said, 
*^A11 right, I surrender." Warner then remarked, 
*'Mr. President, Dyer is ahnost sixty-nine years old, 
and I thought you ought to know that." The Presi- 
dent replied, **I know that and ordinarily I would not 
appoint one so old, but with the knowledge that Col- 
onel Dyer has of affairs in Missouri, I think he can 
do more good in five years than any one else can do 
in ten." This, in brief, was the conversation. 

The President further said that ** ordinarily no one 
should be appointed a judge of the U. S. Court who 
could not reasonably promise a service of twenty 



years." 



Theodore Roosevelt 237 

Senator Warner and I did not call on the Attorney 
General, Charles J. Bonaparte, before seeing the 
President, nor did we call after having seen him. 
Bonaparte opposed my appointment on account of my 
age and tried to dissuade the President. This re- 
sulted in the following correspondence which to me 
is most interesting: 



238 Autohioqrapliy and Reminiscences 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

Washington, February 27, 1907. 
My dear Sir : 

The President directs me to send you for your in- 
formation, the enclosed copy of a letter he has sent 
to the Attorney General relative to your appointment 
as judge. 

Very truly yours, 
Wm. Loeb, Jr., 

Seci^tary to the President. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 
United States Attorney, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 

Enclosure. 



Theodore Roosevelt 239 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

Washington, February 27, 1907. 
My dear Mr. Bonaparte : 

I have received your letter about Mr. Dyer. I have 
also received the following communications from 
Judge Robb, late Assistant Attorney General, and 
Senator Knox, late Attorney General, about him : 



240 Autdbiograpliy and Reminiscences 

THE COURT OF APPEALS 

AVasliington, D. C. 

Dear Senator Warner : 

In response to your request to be informed of my 
estimate of the qualifications of Col. D. P. Dyer, U. 
S. District Attorney at St. Louis, for the position of 
U. S. District Judge, I have the honor to say that I 
have known him and his work since early in 1903. 
While Assistant Atty. General for the P. O. Dept., 
my own observations and the reports I received from 
others led me to believe him a very capable and re- 
liable official. Subsequently I became directly con- 
nected with the Dept. of Justice, where, of course, I 
had a still better opportunity to observe him and his 
work. As you know, I was connected with him in an 
important trial at St. Louis and as the result of my 
associations with him in that trial my previous good 
opinion of him was strengthened. 

In my opinion he is an exceedingly well equipped, 
strong, independent, well balanced man. While he 
is resolute, fearless and courageous, his innate sense 
of justice and fair play tempers all his acts. His 
long experience as a trial lawyer, his wide acquaint- 
ance with the members of the bar of his State, their 
confidence in and respect for him all tend to qualify 
him for judge. His age may possibly be urged 
against him, but as you know he is strong and 
vigorous in mind and body. 

Very respectfully, 

Chas. H. Robb. 

Feb. 26, 1907. 
I always regarded Col. Dyer as one of the very 
best and one of the most loyal District Attornevs. 

P. C. Knox. 



Theodore Roosevelt 241 



I am inclined to feel that your position is just, 
and under normal circmnstances I should treat Col. 
Dj^er's age as a bar. But he is such a splendid old 
fellow, such a straight, game man, that I really haven't 
the heart to rule him out now after having made a 
precisely similar appointment, as regards age, in the 
case of his immediate predecessor. Moreover, as I 
made the last especially at the request of Secretary 
Hitchcock, it seems particularly hard now to turn 
down Senator Warner, who has been such a staunch 
friend of the administration and of good govermuent. 
He, of course, cannot be expected to see why I should 
make one rule for an excellent man who is Secretary 
Hitchcock's friend, and another rule for an excellent 
man who is his (the Senator's) friend. 

Moreover, Senator Warner assures me on behalf 
of Colonel Dyer, that Col. Dyer will resign as Judge 
inunediately that he feels the slightest incapacity to 
do his work. I know that this assurance cannot, from 
the nature of things, be accompanied with any real 
guaranty ; but it was the identical assurance that was 
made in the case of Judge Finkelnburg, and Judge 
Finkelnburg kept it. I have no doubt that Col. Dyer 
will keep it also. I shall consider him in honor bound 
to do so, and I shall send him a copy of this letter. 
Senator Warner will also send him a letter, with his 
personal promise and assurance on Col. Dyer's be- 
half. 

Sincerely yours, 
Theodore Roosevelt. 
Hon. Charles J. Bonaparte, 

Attorney General. 



242 Autobiog ra phy and Reminiscences 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI 

St. Louis, Mo., March 1, 1907. 
Hon. William Loeb, 

Secretary to the President, 
Washington, D. C. 
My dear Mr. Loeb: 

I have your letter of the 27th ult., covering copy 
of a letter written by the President to the Attorney 
General, for which I thank both the President and 
you. 

Give assurances to the President that whenever I 
become mentally or physically disqualified for the 
perf oimance of the duties of the office to which he 
has appointed me, that moment my resignation will 
go to the Department of Justice. No man should hold 
on to any office in the Government service, the duties 
of which he is not able to promptly and faithfully 
perform. 

Do me the favor to say to the President jjersonally 
that his reference to me as a "straight, game man" 
is the highest compliment I ever received. I am glad 
to know that the President thinks I am "game", for 
of all the good qualities I admire in the President, 
the greatest of these is that he is the gamest of the 
game. 

Sincerely, 
David P. Dyer. 

The opposition of the Attorney General to my ap- 
pointment was based upon substantial grounds, but 
the will of the President swept away the objections. 



Theodore Roosevelt 243 

In the history of the Federal judiciary, no one as 
old as I, had ever been made a judge, and I doubt 
whether any president other than Eoosevelt would 
have made the appointment. He tvas my friend, and 
that meant everything to him. 

My name was sent to the Senate for confirmation, 
and with the support of my friends. Senators Warner 
and Stone, from Missouri, it was promptly confirmed. 
Before this, however, the news spread throughout 
the State that the President intended to make the 
appointment. Many good and valued friends of their 
own volition wrote the President in my behalf. 
Copies of some of these letters I take pleasure in in- 
corporating here. 

The first of these was written by Judge John F. 
Philips, IJnited States District Judge for the West- 
ern District of Missouri. He was one of the most 
brilliant men ever produced in the State. He was 
a member of the Constitutional Com'cntion of 1861, 
the convention that held Missouri to her moorings in 
the Union. After the Civil War, he and George G. 
Vest became law partners under the firm name of 
Philips & Vest. He subsequently was elected to Con- 
gress and served with great distinction. He was a 
member of the House and his old partner Vest, a 
member of the Senate. 

The State was never represented in Congress by 
two abler men. Philips was, after his term in Con- 
gress expired, appointed by President Cleveland, 
Judge of the United States District Court for the 
Western District of Missouri. This office he re- 
signed in 1908, and was succeeded by Honorable A. S. 
VanValkenburg. 



244 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Philips died in March, 1919, and was buried at 
Kansas City, Missouri. He was born in Boone 
County, Missouri, in 1834. 

The last speech that he made was at the Planters 
House in St. Louis, in March shortly before his death, 
on the occasion of a banquet given by the Pike County 
Colony of which I was the president. The speech 
was beautifully eloquent and is worthy a place among 
the classics. I can not begin to tell how fond I was 
of him, and how I sorrowed at his death. 

His letter to the President, above alluded to, is 
as follows: 

Kansas City, Mo., 
February 25, 1907. 
Honorable Theodore Roosevelt, 

President of the United States, 
Washington, D. C. 
Sir: 

I observe in the public press that it is your 
purjDose to appoint D. P. Dyer of St. Louis, to 
the approaching vacancy in the office of United 
States District Judge for the Eastern District of 
Missouri. I sincerely hope that this is true. It 
would be a most graceful act on your part. 

From our young manhood, he and I have been 
close to each other. In the dark and stormy 
days of 1861, and through the Civil War, as 
Missourians he and I stood heart to heart, and 
shoulder to shoulder, as citizens and soldiers for 
the Union. At what peril and sacrifice we with- 
stood the test this generation cannot fully know 
or appreciate. Only a few of the tried band of 
patriots, of social and political influence, who 
helped to hold Missouri to her moorings in the 
Union survive. Dyer was among the foremost 
of the courageous, dauntless and unyielding men 



Theodore Roosevelt 245 

who stood at the forefront of danger and respon- 
sibility. His whole life has been grand in its 
honorable achievements in the public service. 
It is without a stain or a shadow of turning from 
the path of duty. 

While I am his senior in years and yet in the 
enjoyment of health and intellectual vigor, he 
possesses still greater capacity for work and 
valuable public service. He richly deserves this 
crowning honor to his career. 

With great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

Jno. F. Philips. 

Another letter of which I am very proud was 
written by an old friend, Henry Lamm, who at the 
time was the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme 
Court. He is still living, and I leave to others the 
duty of properly presenting, when he shall pass to the 
other side, an account of his great service to the 
State. His letter is as follows : 

STATE OF MISSOURI 
SUPREME COURT 

City of Jefferson, 

Feb. 22, 1907. 
To the President: 

I am informed that Judge Finkelnburg of the 
Eastern District of Missouri has resigned and 
that Colonel D. P. Dyer is willing to take the 
place. It is but just to say at the outset that my 
estimate of Colonel Dyer should be taken in con- 
nection with the fact that for thirty years I have 
loved and admired the man. If this friendship 
through partiality makes me the less capable of 
estimating him, Mr. President, you are entitled 
to know the fact in order to weigh the estimate. 



246 Autobiograp hy and Reminiscences 

I look on Colonel Dyer as a man with a great 
heart, and of fine mettle as a civilian, as a soldier 
and as a lawyer. To spring from Virginia 
stock, to settle in Missouri, then in the grip of 
intensely and aggressively pro-slavery states- 
men, to let loose of the principles of his youth 
and neighbors because of his love for the old flag, 
and his disgust at the excesses and possibilities 
of human slavery — all of these things I look on 
as a great distinction. But if, in addition to 
that, public service on high lines is to be con- 
sidered a merit, if integrity and learning with- 
out arrogance are deemed virtues, then Colonel 
Dyer deserves a meed of unsullied praise. He 
is a good lawj^er, Mr. President, and a good man ; 
and if I were you, I would appoint him United 
States District Judge, because, I assure you that 
even *^his failings lean to virtue's side." Some 
tunes a life position with great power so operates 
upon poor hmnan nature as to make men des- 
potic. The}^ do not recognize 

'^That it is excellent to have a giant's strength. 
But it is tyrannous to use it like a giant." 

The elements are so made up in Colonel Dyer that 
it would be impossible for him to be otherwise 
than a plain, bighearted Missourian, full of the 
milk of human kindness, but stern as a rock for 
justice and brave in the performance of duty. 
As he has been all right in every other respect, I 
take it for granted that he must be all right as a 
Judge. 

Sincerely yours, 

Henry Lamm. 

Other letters of commendation from members of 
the Supreme Court of Missouri and the St. Louis 
Court of Appeals, and from persons Avithout regard 



Theodore Boosevelt 247 

to party, were sent to Washington. Copies of a few 
of these are given. 

The following is from Judge AV. W. Graves, at the 
time a member of the Sui)reme Court of the State and 
afterwards its Chief Justice: 

STATE OF MISSOURI 

OFFICE CLERK SUPREME COURT 

JEFFERSON CITY 

February 21, 1907. 
Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, 

President, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: 

Information is received here that Judge G. A. 
Finkelnburg, of St. Louis, will resign from the 
position of United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Missouri, and that the friends 
of Hon. David P. Dyer, present United States 
District Attorney, will ask of you to appoint hun 
to that place. If so, I desire to join the many 
Missouri friends of Col. Dyer in that request. 
Col. Dyer is an able and successful lawyer, ripe 
in both years and experience, and, in addition 
thereto, a man of unquestioned integrity and 
character. His appointment would give great 
satisfaction to both the Bench and Bar of this 
State. 

YeYj respectfully, 

W. W. Graves. 



248 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

That from Judge A. M. Woodson, a member of the 
Supreme Court of Missouri, is as follows : 

STATE OF MISSOURI 
SUPREME COURT 

City of Jefferson, 

Feb. 22, 1907. 
To His Excellency : 

Col. D. P. Dyer of St. Louis is an applicant for 
appointment to the position of United States Cir- 
cuit and District Judge for the Eastern District 
of Missouri. 

I desire to state I have known Col. Dyer for 
more than thirty years, and know him to be a 
gentleman of fine sense, sound judgment, broad 
experience and splendid attainments; he ranks 
among the strongest and best lawyers of the State. 
The able and efficient manner in which he has dis- 
charged the duties of the office of the United 
States District Attorney during the last eight 
or ten years is the best evidence of his great 
ability and qualification to discharge the im- 
portant duties of that high office, and besides, he 
is a high-minded, honorable gentleman of the old 
school, whose honesty and integrity are above re- 
proach and whose moral qualities have never been 
questioned. 

In my judgment he would discharge the duties 
of that office with distinguished ability, and with 
credit to himself and to his country. 

He is a Missourian of the manner born, and all 
such, regardless of politics, would rejoice and be 
greatly pleased to see him appointed. 

I am, sir. 

Yours respectfully, 
A. W. Woodson. 
To President Roosevelt, 

Washington, D. C. 



. Theodore Roosevelt 249 

Below is a letter of the judges of the St. Louis 
Court of Appeals, to Senator Warner: 

STATE OF MISSOURI 

ST. LOUIS COURT OF APPEALS 

ST. LOUIS 

TT wii- ^. February 20, 1907. 

Hon. William Warner, 

United States Senator, 
United States Senate, 
Washington, D. C. 
Sir: 

Judge Gustavus A. Finkelnburg announces to- 
day, through the public press of this City, that he 
Sti'f^f n f sign the office of Judge of the United 
States District Court for the Eastern District of 
Missouri, m the near future, and the name of Col. 
D. P. Dyer, the present United States District 
Attorney IS mentioned as his probable successor. 
We are therefore moved to address you in his 
behalt, signifying our appreciation of the sug- 
gested appointment. Col. Dyer has been a 
highly respected and esteemed member of the bar 
o± this court since its establishment in 1876, and 
of the bar of the State and Federal Courts in 
Missouri for probably forty years 

During his long public career hehas served in 

^^ fl ^?^^?^^^i^e' National Congress, the 
office of the United States District Attorney and 
many other important positions of public trust in 
each and all of which his service has been 
characterized m the very highest sense by fidelity 

\^\ .- '^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^^.^er and a just man, 
whose heart IS great and kind, and is well fitted 
tor the position of Judge of the District Court 
We desire to say to the President, through you 
that should the President decide upon elevating 
col. Uyer to this unportant position, such action 



250 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

will meet with our hearty approval, and we are 
persuaded that the bench and bar of the State 
will not only indorse and approve of the appoint- 
ment, but will feel deeply grateful as well to 
him for this splendid recognition of Col. Dyer's 
worth. 

We have the honor to be, 

Yours very truly, 

C. C. Bland, 

Presiding Judge. 
R. L. Goode, 
Albert D. Nortoni. 

The following is from the then Governor of Mis- 
souri, Herbert S. Hadley, to Senator Warner : 

STATE OF MISSOURI 
LEGAL DEPARTMENT 
CITY OF JEFFERSON 

Febmary 21, 1907. 
Hon. William Warner, 

United States Senate, 
Washington, D. C. 
My dear Sir: 

I see by the papers that Judge Finkelnburg 
will tender his resignation as Judge of the Dis- 
trict Court about the first of April, and that 
Colonel Dyer is mentioned as his successor. I 
hasten to express my opinion as to the complete 
fitness of Colonel Dyer for this appointment, and 
the evident satisfaction with which such a selec- 
tion w^ould be received by the Republicans and 
the people of Missouri. Colonel Dyer's long and 
distinguished career as a citizen and as a public 
man, his ability as a lawyer, his aggressive hon- 
esty and his natural sympathy with all that is 
right, and oi)position to all that is wrong, makes 



Theodore Roosevelt 251 



Imn a man peculiarly qualified to discharge the 
duties of such a judicial position. In case you 
agree with me, as I feel confident vou will, as 
to the advisability of this appointment, I should 
be glad to have you communicate to the Presi- 
dent my opinion concerning it. 
With personal regards, I am, 

Very truly yours, 

Herbert S. Hadley. 

Honorable Joseph W. Folk, ex-Governor of the 
State, wrote to President Roosevelt as below: 

EXECUTIVE CHAMBERS 
STATE OF MISSOURI 
CITY OF JEFFERSON 

TT m, . February 21, 1907. 

Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, 

President, 
Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: 

I understand that Judge G. A. Pinkelnburg is 
to resign as United States District Judge in the 
near future. If the name of Hon. D. P. Dyer, 
present District Attorney in St. Louis, is being- 
considered at all in this connection, I take pleas- 
ure m saying that I believe he would give eminent 
satisfaction to the bar and the people of the 
State. He is a man of high character, unim- 
peachable honesty, and his long experience at 
the bar and in public life thoroughly qualify him 
for the place. 

RespectfuUv, 
Jos. W.* Folk. 

The following are letters of congratulation from 
Justice Willis Van Devanter, then a Circuit Judge, 



252 Autohiography and Beminiscences 

and now an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 
of the United States ; Honorable Chas. H. Robb, then 
and now a United States Circuit Judge ; Honorable 
E. Lewis, then a United States District Judge in 
Colorado, and now a Circuit Judge; and Honorable 
John C. Pollock, United States District Judge for 
Kansas : 

Denver, March 13, 1907. 
Judge D. P. Dyer, 
U. S. Court, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
My dear Colonel: 

I have been from home for three weeks, hunt- 
ing and fishing on the Gulf Coast at Corpus 
Christi, Texas. For ten days or more I was on 
water and did not get a paper or receive a letter, 
hence I learned on my return for the first time 
that Judge Finkelnburg had resigned and that 
the President had appointed you District Judge 
to fill the vacancy. I desire to congratulate you 
heartily. I have not been in the service long 
enough to offer suggestions or give advice, and 
even if I had it would be presumptuous in me to 
do so; but I do gladly welcome you among us, 
and hope at some tune to have a part of your 
services in my district. 

Cordially, 
Robert E. Lewis. 
(Judge U. S. District Court at Denver) 



Theodore Roosevelt 253 

UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURT OF 
APPEALS 

Eighth Circuit 

Cheyenne, Wyoming, April 19, 1907. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 
U. S. District Judge, 
St. Louis, Mo. 
My dear Colonel : 

I have but recently learned of your appoint- 
ment. You didn't invite me to your inaugura- 
tion, but nevertheless, I congratulate you and 
the Eastern District of Missouri upon your ap- 
pointment, and I wish you the fullest measure 
of satisfaction and comfort in the discharge of 
your new duties. 

Either I do not read the newspapers closely, 
or else those which I read did not contain a notice 
of your appointment, and this is the only reason 
why I am tardy in extending my congratulations, 
which are quite earnest. 

Very sincerely, 
Willis Van Devanter. 

THE COURT OF APPEALS 

Washington, D. C, 

February 27, 1907. 
Dear Judge Dyer: 

Your nomination was sent in yesterday and I 
now congratulate you with all my heart. Inte- 
grity and fidelity to duty have been awarded. 
May the duties of the position be pleasant, and 
may you live at least fifty years longer is the wish 
of your friend. 

Chas. H. Robb. 
(U. S. Judge of the Court of Appeals) 



254 Atitohiography and Reminiscences 

Topeka, Feb. 26, 1907. 
My dear Colonel: 

Have been absent from here for the past week 
and did not have the opportunity of reading the 
daily papers. On my return, I am happy to find 
from the dispatches that you have either been, 
or surely will be, nominated by the President to 
succeed Judge Finkelnburg as judge of your dis- 
trict. This is as it should be, and I hasten to say 
to you how very much all your good fortune 
gratifies me. I laiow you wdll enjoy the work 
because you are both by temperament and edu- 
cation so well qualified for the place. Your 
appointment will be a just recognition of your 
excellent services to your country and a just 
tribute to your splendid manhood. The Master 
placed in your breast a big, warm heart. You 
have kept it well filled with red blood, so that it 
responds in sympathy as the heart of a Judge 
should. Created honest, you have remained so. 
In short, you have, to my mind, all the qualifica- 
tions of a just and fearless Judge. 

While I congratulate you, I feel the Govern- 
ment is even more to be congratulated. 

That you may have a long and pleasant term 
of service on the bench is the wish of 

Your friend, 

John C. Pollock. 
(U. S. District Judge for Kansas) 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

U. S. Attorney, 
St. Louis, Mo. 

The foregoing letters of recommendation and con- 
gratulation from gentlemen so distinguished, are 
most highly prized. To each and every one of them 
I owe a debt of lasting gratitude. 



XV 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT Continued 

More Letters — Naturalization Frauds — Northern 
Securities Case — Roosevelt in Pike County. 

After assuming the duties of judge, my friendly 
relations with President Roosevelt continued until 
his death. Little did he or I think at the time of my 
appointment that one of my age would survive him, 
so young, strong and vigorous. 

From this time I took no active part in politics, 
beyond observing the general sentiment of the coun- 
try toward its public men and casting my vote as 
judgment and conscience dictated. 

'No one will dispute the fact, I think, that in 1912 a 
very large majority of the Republican voters in the 
country favored the nomination and election of Colo- 
nel Roosevelt to the presidency. This desire and 
wish of the rank and file of the Republican party 
was defeated by political bosses and unprincipled 
political schemers. A majority of the men compos- 
ing the National Republican Committee at that time 
belonged to and were active members of such a gang. 

In making up the roll of delegates entitled to seats 
in the convention, they kept off those that had been 
duly and fairly chosen and put on others who were 
not the representatives of the Republicans. Their 



256 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

purpose was to defeat the will of the people, i.e., 
the nomination of Roosevelt. No gang of pirates 
upon the high seas ever more deliberately scuttled a 
ship than these committeemen scuttled the Republi- 
can ship. The Republican voters in November of 
that year condemned by their votes the action of the 
conunittee. The so-called nominee of that conven- 
tion received the electoral votes of only Utah and 
Vermont; Mr. Wilson was elected, and whatever 
good or bad to the country that election brought, was 
solely attributable to the bosses and schemers. If 
Roosevelt had been declared the nominee, as he by 
right should have been, his election to the presidency 
would have been certain. 

I voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and for every 
Republican candidate for the presidency since then, 
which, of course, includes Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. 

In 1916 Honorable Charles E. Hughes of New 
York was nominated over Colonel Roosevelt for the 
presidency, and by a narrow margin was defeated 
by Woodrow Wilson in November following. The 
action of the convention in making a Justice of 
the Supreme Court of the United States the Repub- 
lican candidate, was very questionable. Had Roose- 
velt been made the nominee, as a vast majority of the 
Republicans of the country desired, he would have 
been elected by a great majority. He was again de- 
feated for the nomination by the bosses that cursed 
and still curse the party organization. 

These comments may be far-fetched and out of 
place here, but they will serve at least to preserve 
in a measure the opinions of one who has no purpose 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 257 



to serve other than to record what to him seems to be 
the facts. 

For a time after the nomination of Judge Hughes 
it was thought by some that Roosevelt would not sup- 
port him for the presidency. Some feared and 
others hoped that this would prove true. However, 
in a short time, Colonel Roosevelt came out in a strong 
statement supporting the nomination of Judge 
Hughes. I wrote him a letter congratulating him 
upon his stand. He answered as follows : 



258 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



THE METROPOLITAN 
432 Fourth Ave. 
Office of 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

New York, Sept. 20, 1916. 
Dear Judge: 

No letter ever pleased me more than yours. You 
know that you are one of my heroes and I believe in 
you with all mj^ heart. 

Faithfully yours, 

Theodore RooseA^elt. 
Hon. David P. T>yei\ 
U. S. Dist. Court Judge, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 259 

This and other letters that I received from him, 
of which I am exceedingly proud, have given me 
great pleasure. Of course, they are private and or- 
dinarily should not be published, but his confidence 
and friendship meant so much to me that I want 
my descendants to know that I had such a friend. 

In 1915 Barnes, the Republican boss of New York, 
brought a suit against Roosevelt for an alleged libel 
and placed his damages at fifty thousand dollars. 
The charges contained in the bill were very serious 
and reflected upon the political honesty of Barnes. 
Roosevelt pleaded the truth of the charges. A trial 
was had and the jury rendered a verdict in favor of 
Roosevelt. The newspapers gave an account of the 
trial and stated that at the conclusion, a photograph 
was taken of the jury and of Col. Roosevelt. About 
the time of the verdict I met Avith an accident, fall- 
ing and breaking my right arm between the elbow 
and shoulder w^hile walking on the street. This hap- 
pened quite early in the morning. I was taken to 
St. John's Hospital by my friend Dr. John Young 
Brown. The arm was set and bandaged and at 10 :00 
o'clock I went to the court-room where a jury was 
to report. The newspapers had a notice of the ac- 
cident and of my holding court, etc. Prior to this 
I had written to Col. Roosevelt for a copy of the 
photograph of the jury and hmiself. In answer to 
this request I received the following letter: 



260 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, 

June 16, 1915. 
Dear Judge: 

I had to take some little time before I could get 
that photograph of the jury and myself. It wiU get 
to you shortly. Meanwhile I won't wait any longer 
to send you this letter. I have heard of your accident 
and the characteristic way you did your work with- 
out any regard to it. Good for you, you typical old 
American. I wish we had two of your kind in the 
Presidency and Secretaryship of State. 

Faithfully yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Hon. David P. Dyer. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 261 



On the 12tli of February, 1918, (that being my 
80tli anniversary) there was a large assemblage of 
judges, lawyers and other citizens in the court-room 
of the United States District Court. Certain pro- 
ceedings (published in full elsewhere in this volume) 
were held, a copy of which I sent to Col. Roosevelt 
at New York. He wrote me the following letter 
after receiving them: 



262 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



THE METROPOLITAN 

432 Fourth Avenue 

Office of Theodore Roosevelt. 

New York, March 26, 1918. 
My dear Judge : 

Indeed I am glad to get those proceedings. My 
dear fellow, I am proud of what was said of you, but 
I am not in the least surprised, for you are one of 
those Americans of whom all Americans must feel 
proud. 

I wish our average young men of thirty had as 
strong and buoyant a soul and as clear moral and 
mental vision as j^ou have at eighty. 

Always yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

U. S. District Judge. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 263 



In October, 1918, I was taken very ill with an at- 
tack of acute indigestion. For the first time in my 
life I became unconscious, and fell in the elevator 
while going to my chambers in the Customs House. 
Notice of this attack was taken in the newspapers. 
Shortly after that I received the following : 



264 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



NEW YORK OFFICE 
347 Madison Avenue 

October 15, 1918. 
Office of Theodore Roosevelt. 

My dear Judge : 

I was greatly concerned at the news in tlie papers 
that you had been overcome while in court. My dear 
fellow, you must be very careful with yourself. Even 
your abounding vitality has its limits, and you are 
far too fine and useful a citizen for us to spare you 
at this crisis. 

Ever yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Judge David P. Dyer, 
U. S. Dist. Court, 
St. Louis, Mo. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 265 



Previous to the foregoing letter I had another from 
Col. Roosevelt. I am unable now to recall what I 
had done that he so heartily approved and which 
gave rise to the writing of the letter by him. It is 
as follows: 



266 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



THE METROPOLITAN 

432 Fourth Avenue 

New York, March 8, 1917. 
Office of Theodore Roosevelt. 

Dear Judge : 

Three cheers for you ! I knew I was justified when 
I appointed you in spite of your age. I knew then 
as I know now that you are incapable of acting ex- 
cept as you have acted and I am more proud than 
I can say to have had the honor of appointing you. 

Faithfully yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

U. S. Dist. Judge. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 267 



Whatever the occasion for the above may have 
been, the fact that it was written gives me the op- 
portunity of transmitting to my descendants a heri- 
tage that I consider of great value. 

The last time that I saw and talked with Col. Roose- 
velt was on the occasion of his last visit to St. Louis. 
I met Mm and Mrs. Roosevelt at the Jefferson Hotel. 
The reason of my visit and what took place is par- 
tially told by John J. Leary, Jr., in his '* Talks with 
T. R.," given at Page 180 and following of his book 
''Germans in America." This is referred to not for 
the purpose of showing what was said about me but 
for a far more important conversation showing his 
thorough understanding and appreciation of the 
Germans in America. These expressions of his were 
made during the World War and now that peace 
has been declared, are well worth preserving. They 
show Roosevelt's estimate of the German character 
in America and of his faith in their loyalty to the 
land of their adoption. 

In November, 1917, 1 wrote him, at the instance of 
leading members of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, asking that he accept their invitation 
to speak in St. Louis. He wrote me as follows : 



268 Autohiography and Reminiscences 



THE METROPOLITAN 
432 Fourth Avenue 

New York, November 9, 1917. 
Office of 
Theodore Roosevelt. 

Dear Judge : 

I wish I could come. I am a tremendous believer 
in the Y. M. C. A., but it is simply impossible for me 
to make an additional engagement just at this time. 
With heartiest good wishes. 

Faithfully yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Judge David P. Dyer, 
St. Louis. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 269 



The last note that I ever received from the Colonel 
was in answer to my congratulations on his birth- 
day: 



270 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



NEW YORK 

Nov. 11, 1918. 
Dear Judge Dyer: 
I am deeply touched by your birthday greetings. 

Faithfully yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 271 

It was a great privilege and pleasure to know Col. 
Roosevelt. He was a great man without ostentation, 
a patriot in every sense of the word, a statesman un- 
matched in his generation, and a friend as true as 
the magnet is to the North Star. 

Surely the passing from sight of such a man is not 
death, but only the going to another and better world, 
where his great talents may find a wider field. 

God bless him, is the prayer of one who loved him 

when he was on earth and cherishes his memory now 

that he is gone. 

NATURALIZATION 

No greater peril threatens the peace and safety 
of the United States today than that which comes 
from the illiterate, uneducated, ignorant and vicious 
class of native and foreign-born men and women who 
are to be found in great numbers in each State of 
the Union. The percentage of illiteracy in the coun- 
try is most appalling in the light of the opportuni- 
ties offered for the education of the masses. Not 
only is this ignorance among native-born distressing 
and alarming, but when it is added to by the illiterate 
and vicious of other lands, who are annually dumped 
upon our shores like so much vermin, it is doubly so. 

It may be that the government is comparatively 
helpless so far as the native-boi*n are concerned, but 
it is not so with the foreigners tvlio are drought. 

The remedy for this evil lies in the Congress of the 
United States. If the people would elect to Con- 
gress, statesmen and patriots, instead of (as they fre- 
quently do) selfish and small-fry political bmnmers, 
who are the excrescence of disreputable bosses and 
corrupt party heelers, it would be for the everlasting 
good of the country. 



272 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

If Congress by proper legislation, will prohibit the 
coming of such jDeople it will leave only those already 
here to be dealt with. No alien should be admitted 
who cannot bring with hun or her a certificate of good 
character and fair intelligence, from the country of 
which he or she is then a subject, approved and certi- 
fied to hy the representative of this government then 
in such foreign country. Thousands of foreigners 
come to the United States each year who know noth- 
ing about the American form of government. They 
have been gathered in the steerage of ships and there 
herded like so many sheep or swine, and finall}^ 
turned loose to prey upon the laws and resources of 
this country. Not until the presidency of Theodore 
Roosevelt, was much attention paid to the coming 
and naturalization of such disreputable aliens. 

Shortly after I qualified as United States Attorney 
in 1902, my attention was called to the criminal meth- 
ods that had therefore prevailed to an alarming 
extent in the naturalization of aliens in the courts of 
the city of St. Louis. 

An examination of the facts disclosed a state of 
affairs that was almost incredible. Political bos- 
ses and ward heelers prior to an election were busy 
in rounding up, like so many cattle, all aliens for 
naturalization and for their registration as voters. 
Money was contributed by party committees to pay 
all expenses, including court fees, notary fees, witness 
fees, and salaries to the heelers, for the naturaliza- 
tion and registration of such aliens as the ''bosses" 
might desire and recommend. A few days prior 
to the election this army of aliens would be marched 
into a court room and there divided into squads — 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 273 

one squad representing all from a particular county. 
One or two witnesses would be sworn as to the quali- 
fication of the whole number and the Court would 
order certificates to be issued. There was no record 
kept of the names of the witnesses (if any were used) 
and consequently no information of any value pre- 
served. 

Many received certificates of naturalization who 
never went near a court room. Hundreds of the 
applicants had not been in the United States for five 
years, as the law requires, — in fact, they had been 
in the country only a few months, and could not speak 
a word of English. Their names were placed upon 
the registration lists of qualified voters and voted on 
the day of election. How they voted and for whom, 
was not allowed to be shown by the courts in cases 
of contest, on the ground that it would deprive the 
ballot of its secrecy, that is, fraud was so sacred that 
it could not be disclosed. 

The facts coming to my attention were laid before 
a grand jury and a full investigation made. The 
result was the indictment of many, including not only 
the ''voter" himself but many party bosses and dis- 
reputable ward heelers. Among them was a man by 
the name of Barrett, who at the time was Marshal 
of the St. Louis Court of Appeals; John Dolan, 
Chairman of the Democratic City Conunittee, and 
many others. 

They were brought to trial before the Honorable 
E. B. Adams, Judge of the United States District 
Court, and juries. They were found guilty and 
sentenced to serve terms in the State Penitentiary. 
The evidence taken at these trials was preserved and 



274 Autobiography and Bemmiscences 

much of it forwarded to the Department of Justice 
at Washington. The matter was called to the atten- 
tion of President Roosevelt and he, by special 
message, called the attention of Congress to the re- 
port. To the prompt action of the President the 
country is indebted for the law that is on the statute 
books today touching the requirements in the natural- 
ization of aliens. 

Under the law as it now stands, an applicant for 
naturalization must file his application with the 
Clerk of the Court together with the affidavits of tw^o 
American citizens as to his qualifications, etc. The 
application and the supporting affidavits must re- 
main on file for three months before the case can be 
heard by the court. This is done for the purpose of 
giving an opportunity to the Government to make 
further examination, not only of the applicant but 
of each of the witnesses. 

Under an order of the court made b}^ me as Judge, 
these papers would go to the Chief Naturalization 
officer, for his further examination and report. The 
work of Mr. Bevington in this regard has been most 
satisfactory. 

Some of the cases tried by me before Judge Adams 
went to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, 
upon writs of error. The ruling of the court in these 
and other cases are most important and citations are 
made therefrom, following the statement of facts, 
as taken from the opinion of Judge Amidon in the 
case of Dolan vs. United States, in Volume 133, p. 
441, of the Federal Reporter. No more shocking 
recital was ever made in a criminal case. 

Barrett's part in the naturalization business 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 275 



was to stand in front of the judges and take from 
the aliens who passed into the court and before 
the judges a certain slip of paper which the alien 
bore, and which was of the following purport: 
''Hon. John H. Murphy, Clerk of the St. Louis 
Court of Appeals : Please deliver to the party 
named certificate of citizenship." This sHp of 
paper was signed by the proper member of the 
City or the Jefferson Democratic Club of St. 
Louis. Barrett would lay these slips on the desk 
of the clerk of the court. Some of the slips he 
wrote hunself , and some of the certificates of citi- 
zenship he delivered to the applicants. The evi- 
dence shows that the naturalization of aliens was 
carried on in this court on the evenings of the 
6th, 8th, and 10th of October, 1902, on an ex- 
tensive scale. The aliens were collected in the 
corridors of the court and grouped according to 
their nationality — Russian Jews, Bohemians, 
Italians, etc. At the proper tune each group 
would be moved forward into the courtroom and 
the oaths administered to the aliens. The same 
witnesses testified generally for the whole group. 
To prepare for this large volume of business, the 
clerk, previous to the session of the court, signed 
and affixed the seal of the court to a large num- 
ber of blank certificates, so that all he had to do 
was to fill in the names and the country of the 
applicant's nativity, and deliver the papers to 
the aliens or to some of the managers who had 
them in charge. He would afterwards make up 
his record from the slips. 

This jurist in United States v. Lenore, 207 Fed. 
867-8, described the fraud situation that had pre- 
vailed in the following language : 

In 1902 fraudulent and illegal practices in the 
naturalization of aliens were discovered in the 



276 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

city of St. Louis, Mo. Some of these misdoings 
are recounted in the opinion in Dolan v. United 
States, 133 Fed. 440, 69 C. C. A. 274. The pro- 
secutions which resulted in the Eastern district 
of Missouri led to investigations in other cities, 
and the discovery of many fraudulent and illegal 
practices in the issuance of certificates of 
naturalization. In some cases perjury and 
subornation of perjury were resorted to for the 
purpose of deceiving the court and obtaining 
certificates for aliens who had not resided in the 
country for the requisite time. In other cases 
foreigners were marched into the court in large 
companies, and the oath of allegiance admin- 
istered to the whole company, although many of 
them were unable either to speak or understand 
the language that was used. Two persons made 
the ordinary witnesses ' oaths for the whole com- 
pany. Upon this sham and spurious proceeding 
certificates were issued. In other cases clerks of 
court issued such certificates, without any pro- 
ceeding in court whatever, and fabricated a 
judicial record to support the certificates. It 
was even discovered that some clerks were en- 
gaged in a regular brokerage business in certifi- 
cates of naturalization. This practice went so 
far that some of these certificates were sold to 
aliens residing abroad, who had never been in 
the United States, in order that they might be 
used for fraudulent purposes, both with respect 
to foreign countries and this country. The re- 
sult of these investigations was gathered together 
in an elaborate report, which was presented to 
Congress and resulted in the passage of the act 
of 1906. Congressional Record, vol. 40, part of 
page 7036; House Documents, col. 44 (Miscel- 
laneous) 59th Congress, 1st Session. 

Again, in United States v. Janke, 183 Fed. 278, 



Theodore Boosevelt — Continued 277 

Judge Amidon made reference to the same subject, 
as follows: 

In the year 1906 Congress had before it for 
months the question of the proper regulation of 
the admission of foreigners to citizenship. The 
subject had been brought impressively before 
the country by the discovery that extensive 
frauds had been committed under the laws then 
in force. In cases arising at St. Louis (Levin 
v. U. S., 128 Fed. 826, 63 C. C. A. 476; Dolan v. 
IT. S., 133 Fed. 440, 69 C. C. A. 274) it appeared 
that corrupt politicians, in order to forward their 
corrupt purposes, had gathered together mobs 
of foreigners and brought them to the court- 
house, grouped according to their nationality — 
Huns, Italians, Armenians, and Jews. They 
were collected in the corridors of the courthouse, 
and each band placed under the generalship of a 
policeman, and then marched in blocks before the 
judges of one of the high courts of that city, and 
there, under a merely formal ceremony, in which 
the oath was administered to the entire block, 
they were admitted as citizens. In some cases 
the formality of going before the court was 
omitted, and citizenship papers issued to lists 
furnished by ward politicians. Upon investiga- 
tion it was found that many of these people had 
been in the United States for only a few days. 
Similar frauds were subsequently discovered in 
other cities. These prosecutions apparently 
played a vital and important part in putting an 
end to the naturalization frauds that had for 
years disgraced the country. 

By Executive Order of March 1, 1905, President 
Theodore Roosevelt appointed a Commission on 
Naturalization, which submitted an elaborate report 



278 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

on November 8, 1905. This report was communi- 
cated to Congress December 5, 1905, and is known as 
House Doc. No. 46, 59tli Cong., 1st. Sess. This re- 
sulted, in due course, in the enactment of what is now 
known as the Naturalization Act of June 29, 1906, 
which, with a few amendments since added, repre- 
sents the existing statute. 

This act of June 29, 1906, was the first revision 
in a century of the laws pertaining to naturalization. 
It did not depart from the framework of what had 
theretofore been the law. It did embody, in the 
main, the amendments urged in Congress, from time 
to time during the preceding hundred years, but 
which for one reason or another had not been adopted. 

There were two outstanding features of the act of 
June 29, 1906, the need of which were fully demon- 
strated by the St. Louis fraud prosecutions. The 
first of these reserved the right to the United States 
to appear and to be heard in connection with each and 
every naturalization application filed. The second 
provided a method of cancellation of those decrees of 
citizenship illegally or fraudulently procured or 
granted. 

NORTHERN SECURITIES CASE 

Many cases of great importance were heard and 
decided by the Circuit Court of Appeals for the 8th 
circuit during the years that I was United States 
Attorney, but the one involving a momentous ques- 
tion over which the greatest legal battle was fought 
before the court at St. Louis was that of the United 
States against Northern Securities Company and 
others. The court was composed of Judges Cald- 
well, Sanborn, Thayer and Van Devanter. My recol- 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 279 



lection is that only Judges Caldwell, Sanborn and 
Thayer participated in the decision. The suit or pro- 
ceeding was a bill in equity instituted in the Minne- 
sota District under and by the direction of Honorable 
P. C. Knox, the then Attorney General of the United 
States. 

The controversy involved the Sherman Anti-Trust 
Act of 1890, declaring illegal ''every contract, com- 
bination or conspiracy in restraint of trade or com- 
merce among the several States or with foreign 
nations. '^ The case is fully reported in Vol. 120 at 
page 721 of the Federal Reporter. Briefly stated, 
it was a proceeding against the Northern Securities 
Company, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company 
and the Great Northern Railroad Company. The last 
two named defendants were the owners of two lines 
of railway, running almost parallel with each other 
that extended from St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth 
across the continent to Puget Sound. These roads 
were in the estimation of the public regarded, and 
properly so, as competing lines. In the spring of 
1901 they imited in purchasing about 98 per cent of 
the entire capital stock of the Chicago, Burling-ton & 
Quincy Railroad Company and the stock purchased 
was of the par value of ($107,000,000) one hundred 
and seven million dollars. 

During the year 1901, the two railroad companies, 
the Northern Pacific and Great Northern, acting in 
concert, conceived the idea of placing a large majority 
of the stock of both companies in the hands of a single 
owner. The stockholders agreed to form a corpora- 
tion under the laws of New Jersey, which when 
organized should buy all or the greater part of the 



280 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

stock of the two defendant railroad companies. 
Accordingly the Northern Securities Company was 
organized with a capital stock of four hundred 
million dollars ($400,000,000), that sum being the 
exact amount required to purchase the stock of the 
two defendant railroad companies. Shortly after the 
corporate organization, it purchased the stock of the 
two railroad companies and paid for it tvith its own 
stock. Tliis placed the control of the two railroad 
companies in the hands of a single person. The 
Securities Company. This brought to the front the 
legal question as to whether such a combination and 
agreement fell within the inhibition of the Anti- 
Trust Act, or not. 

It was alleged in the bill that the defendants en- 
tered into a combination or conspiracy in restraint of 
trade, and prayed for an order of court prohibiting 
the Securities Company from exercising any control 
over the corporate acts of either of the two railroad 
companies — or in other words, to practically set 
aside all that had been done in pursuance of the un- 
lawful conspiracy. The bill (as before said) was 
filed in Minnesota, but was removed to St. Louis for 
hearing before **at least three judges" of the Court 
of Appeals. 

At that hearing there was probably the greatest 
array of counsel that had ever appeared in that court. 
The Government was represented by D. T. Watson 
of Pittsburgh, Special Counsel James M. Beck, and 
W. A. Day, Assistant Attorneys General. The 
Securities Company by Ex- Attorney General of the 
United States, John W. Griggs of New Jersey, and 
George B. Young. For the Great Northern Railroad 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 281 

Company, M. D. Grover, and for the Northern 
Pacific, C. W. Bunn. There were several other law- 
yers of ability representing other individual defen- 
dants. 

The arguments lasted for, I think, three days, and 
were listened to by a great number of lawyers and 
other citizens who were attracted to the court by the 
importance of the questions involved and by the 
reputation of counsel engaged. All of the arguments 
made were able and interesting, but those of Messrs. 
Watson, Beck and Griggs were considered the ablest 
and strongest. 

The case was submitted to the court and taken 
under advisement. There was, as I learned, no im- 
mediate consulation by the judges — for the reason 
that at the close of the arguments Judge Sanborn 
was called out of the city. It was several days be- 
fore he returned and his absence greatly disturbed 
Judge Caldwell, for he was anxious to dispose of the 
case and to get away from St. Louis. Any one who 
knew Judge Caldwell can well understand his im- 
patience. He was honest, fearless and true, but once 
in a while would '* speak out in meeting" about cases 
under submission. While he never at any time be- 
fore the decision was reached stated his own opinion 
about this case, it was easy enough to see the ''bent of 
his mind." 

Before the decision was handed down I was called 
to Washington by a telegram from the Attorney 
General, P. C. Knox. I arrived there on Sunday 
evening, the 29th of March, 1903, and that evening at 
his residence saw the Attorney General who, of 
course, was anxious to know at what time the case 



282 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

would likely be decided and the probable attitude of 
the judges. He asked my oj^inion as to the result. 
I told hiin that I believed the decision would be in 
favor of the Government — not from anything the 
judges or either of them had told me, but from the 
undisguised manner of Judge Caldwell, not only upon 
but off the bench as well. He also asked who I 
thought would write the opinion in the case. I 
guessed Judge Thayer. 

From the Attorney General I learned that the 
President (Roosevelt) was greatly interested in the 
case and had been anxious for the decison to be made 
before he started on a tour to the Pacific Coast, be- 
ginning April first. He was to speak at Milwaukee 
on the third, and had planned to say much about the 
Anti-Trust (Sherman) law, and to denounce such 
combinations and conspiracies in restraint of trade 
and commerce as the Northern Securities case fur- 
nished. He wanted to be secure in his footing be- 
fore he spoke, and hence was anxious that his 
denunciations, if made, would not be answered by a 
court decision. My predictions to the Attorney 
General as to the decision and by whom it would be 
written, were verified on the ninth of April when the 
case was decided by a unanimous court. I called on 
Monday, March the 29th, at the White House to pay 
my respects to the President. I found hun in 
splendid humor and full of his trip to the West. No 
mention was made by either of us of the Securities 
case. With boyish glee he said, *'0n my trip I am 
to pass through Pike County and I would be glad to 
have you meet me at Hannibal and accompany me 
from there to St. Louis." I, of course, was greatly 



Theodore Roosevelt — Continued 283 

pleased to accept the invitation. On March 30th, I 
left Washington for home, and the President on the 
following day, April 1st, left on his trip to the West. 

He went to Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Sioux 
Palls, Billings, Montana, and other points, and came 
into Missouri from Keokuk, Iowa, in the morning of 
April 29th, on his waj' through Hannibal and 
Louisiana to St. Louis. Before this time Judge 
Thayer on the ninth of April, handed down the 
decision in the Securities case. 

Knowing the day that the President was to pass 
through Pike County, my old home, I asked Judges 
Thayer and Adams and William L. Morsey, the 
United States Marshal, to go with me to Hannibal 
and meet the President. They accepted the invita- 
tion and early in the morning of the 29th of April 
we left on the Burlington road for Hannibal. At 
Louisiana I f oimd standing on the railroad platform 
my old friend, Congressman Champ Clark, waiting 
to take the train. He told me that he was going to 
Hannibal to meet the President, accompany him 
down through the old Ninth District, and introduce 
him to his (Clark's) constituents. This he did in a 
most gracious manner. 

At Louisiana an incident occurred that made a deep 
impression on me. Colonel and Mrs. Charles Gr. 
Buffum, then and now residents of Louisiana, were 
very anxious to have their little daughter, Mary 
Frances, then about two years old, shake hands with 
the President. I took the child in my arms and fol- 
lowed the President on to a platform where he was 
to speak, and while he was shaking hands with the 
child the platform gave way vdth a crash. Fortun- 



284 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

ately no one was hurt, but as the platform went down 
he turned to me and said, ^'Dyer, take that child 
away. ' ' His only anxiety seemed to be for the child, 
and, strange as it may seem, I never met him after- 
wards that he did not ask about 'kittle Mary 
Frances. ' ' 

He has gone to his reward, and Mary Frances has 
grown into beautiful young womanhood. 

The case of Northern Securities Company decided 
by Judges Caldwell, Sanborn and Thayer was taken 
to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the 
decision of the lower court was affirmed by a majority 
of the judges in an opinion written by John Marshall 
Harlan, one of the greatest judges that ever sat in that 
court. Thus ended a controversy that was far reach- 
ing and most important. The opinion of the Supreme 
Court will be found in Vol. 193, at Page 197 of United 
States Supreme Court Decisions. 

While I had no active connection with this case 
either in the Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme 
Court, it was of such great importance that I have 
deemed it well to mention it in these reminiscences. 




Likeness of Mi;s. Dveu ox Heu CJoldex Wedding Day 



XVI 

GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY 

Fiftieth Celebration of Our Marriage — Death of my 
Wife — A Prayer. 

In every life, I dare say there is more or less of 
sunshine and cloud, more or less of joy and sorrow, 
more or less of pain and anguish, more or less of 
riches and poverty, more or less of hope and doubt, 
and more or less of that loving spirit that reaches up 
to God. Much of the matter contained in these im- 
perfect reminiscences can interest only those of my 
kindred. It is for them and them alone that a great 
part is written. 

I have given a very imperfect account of my meet- 
ing with Lizzie Chambers Hunt, our marriage that 
followed three years later, and the fifty years of hap- 
piness that ensued. 

The picture of my wife that appears here together 
with the picture of the group was taken on the day 
of our Golden Wedding. In this group appears each 
of my children; my sons-in-law; my daughters-in- 
law ; and my grandchildren. These with my wife and 
myself number twenty. / 

On the 15th of November, 1910, my wife and I cele- 
brated at home our fiftieth marriage anniversary — 
our golden wedding. It was a date that both of us 



288 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

had looked forward to with great interest and had 
hoped to celebrate together. !She was not strong and 
robust as she once was, but the good Lord had been 
kind to her and to me, and the day that marked the 
culmination of fifty years of married life, found us 
reasonably well. It was a beautiful one, too, — much 
the same as was the 15th of November, 1860. I held 
court, as was my duty, until 3:00 P. M. At 5:00 
P. M. dinner was served. 

There were present all six of my children, Ezra 
Hunt; Emma Grace Dyer Hunting; David P. Jr.; 
Elizabeth L. ; Horace L. ; and Louise Dyer Fay, to- 
gether with Julia Gregg, wife of Ezra Hunt ; Edgar 
W. Hunting, husband of Emma Grace ; Maud Ensign, 
wife of David P. Jr. ; Betsy Wilcox, wife of Horace 
L ; and A. F. Pay, husband of Louisa Dyer. There 
were present also seven grandchildren : Orian Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Ezra Hunt and Julia Gregg Dyer ; 
David Dyer, Robert Cutler and Edgar Himt, sons of 
Edgar W. and Emma Grace Hunting ; Louise Ensign, 
daughter of David P. Jr., and Maud Ensign Dyer; 
David Wilcox, son of Horace L. and Betsy Wilcox 
Dyer; and Claudine Fay, daughter of A. F. and 
Louise Dyer Fay — in all seventeen. Forming a part 
of my immediate family was Claudine Hunt, the 
youngest sister of my wife. 

In addition to all of these there were also present 
and at dinner, Colonel Levi P. Hunt, brother of my 
wife, and his daughter, EUen Louise ; Margaret and 
Claude Edwards, niece and nephew of my wife ; Mrs. 
Martha L. Burnett and her daughter Mrs. Buell, of 
Louisiana, Mo. ; Mrs. N. A. McCarty, of Cadiz, Ky. ; 
Miss Leslie Abbott; Senator William Warner; Mrs. 



Golden Wedding Anniversary 291 

James O. Broadhead, widow of my old preceptor; 
Colonel and Miss Dahlgren; and Reverend James 
Wise and wife. The total number at dinner includ- 
ing my wife, daughter Elizabeth and myself, mun- 
bered thirty-five. 

During the evening there were many callers, and 
altogether there was a happy gathering. Since that 
joyous day, many of those present have passed into 
that '* undiscovered country from which no traveller 
returns," among them being my wife and my daugh- 
ter-in-law, Julia Gregg Dyer, Mrs. Martha L. Bur- 
nett, Senator William Warner, Mrs. James O. Broad- 
head, Miss Dahlgren, and Colonel Levi P. Hunt. 

The fifty years of our married life were passed 
but a gracious Providence permitted ahnost six years 
more to go by before the family circle that gathered 
together on the 15th of November, 1910, was broken. 
On the 1st day of January, 1916, the soul of my wife 
took its flight to the world beyond the stars. How 
faithful, sweet, loving and patient she had been for 
the fifty-six years of our married life no one can 
measure. 

In this loss I was greatly comforted by the children 
she had borne, by Claudine Hunt, her sister, and by 
gentle and loving friends. Some kind friend (I do 
not know whom) sent me a copy of a beautiful prayer 
that had been said by a husband bereft as I was. 
This prayer I have repeated many times, and I in- 
sert it here, to the end that others may see and ap- 
preciate it when I am gone : 

Grant unto her, O Lord, eternal rest and let 
light perpetually shine upon her. 

0, God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, in 



292 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

whose embrace all creatures live, in whatsoever 
world or condition they be, I beseech Thee for her 
whose name and dwelling place Thou knowest. 
Lord, vouchsafe her light and rest, peace and re- 
freshment, joy and consolation in Paradise, in the 
companionship of saints, in the presence of 
Christ, in the ample folds of Thy great love. 

Grant that her life (so troubled here) may un- 
fold itself in Thy sight and find a sweet employ- 
ment in the spacious fields of eternity. If she 
hath ever been hurt or mained by any unhappy 
word or deed of mine, I pray Thee of Thy great 
pity to heal and restore her, that she may serve 
Thee without hindrance. Tell her, O gracious 
Lord, if it may be, how much I love her and miss 
her and how I long to see her again ; and if there 
be ways in which she may come, vouchsafe her to 
me as a guide and guard and grant me a sense of 
her nearness in such degree as Thy laws permit. 
If in aught I can minister to her peace be pleased 
of Thy love to let this be, and mercifully keep me 
from every act which may deprive me of sight of 
her as soon as our trial time is over or mar the 
fulness of our joy when the end of the days hath 
come. 

Pardon, O gracious Lord and Father, whatso- 
ever is amiss in my prayer, and let Thy will be 
done, for my will is blind and erring but Thine 
is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
that we ask or think, through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Amen. 



XVII 

OCTOGENARIAN 

Eleven Years on the Bench — My Eightieth Birth- 
day Celebrated by Friends — Reprint of Speeches 
and Letters — Retirement. 

I never was and never pretended to be the equal 
in learning and legal ability of the distinguished men 
who preceded me on the bench of the United States 
District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 
but in the eleven years that I served as judge, prior 
to my 80th anniversary, I was fortunate in having the 
confidence and friendship of many judges, lawyers, 
and other citizens. 

On the morning of February 12, 1918, there was 
assembled in the Court room in which I presided, a 
large gathering of my friends and acquaintances. On 
that day the following proceedings took place. 



294 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



FELICITATIONS 



OF THE BENCH AND BAR AND OTHER QTIZENS 
TENDERED TO THE 



HONORABLE DAVID P. DYER 

Judge of the United States District Court 
For the Eastern District of Missouri 



ON HIS 



EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY 



ST. LOUIS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, 1918 



Octogenarian 295 



CONGRATULATORY MEETING 
of 

The Bench and Bar of St. Louis and other Citizens 

in Honor of 

HONORABLE DAVID PATTERSON DYER 

United States District Judge 
Eastern District of Missouri 



Tuesday, February 12th, 1918 
Ten O'clock A. M. 



COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF PROGRAM 

HON. JAMES E. WITHROW 
Ex- Judge Circuit Court, City of St. Louis, Chairman 

HON. HENRY S. PRIEST 

Ex-Judge United States District Court 

HON. ALBERT D. NORTONI 

Ex-Judge St. Louis Court of Appeals 

HON. MATT G. REYNOLDS 

Ex- Judge Circuit Court, City of St. Louis 

FREDERICK N. JUDSON, Esquire 

HON. SELDEN P. SPENCER 

Ex- Judge Circuit Court, City of St. Louis 



HON. WALTER H. SANBORN and HON. WIL- 
LIAM C. HOOK, of the United States Circuit Court 
of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, occupied the bench with 
Judge Dyer. 



296 Autobiography and Reminiscen ces 

The United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Missouri, convened in regular session on 
Tuesday, February 12th, 1918, at ten o 'clock a. m. in 
the Court Room, St. Louis, Missouri. 

Hon. Walter H. Sanborn and Hon. William C. 
Hook, were seated on the Bench with Judge Dyer. 

Hon. James E. Withrow announced that it was the 
purpose of those present to extend to Judge Dyer their 
congratulations upon his Eightieth Birthday, and 
thereupon the following proceedings were had : 

HON. JAMES E. WITHROW, Presiding. 

The Chairman : If the Court please, a large num- 
ber of the members of the bench and bar, some ladies, 
and many other citizens, have assembled here today 
to tender their felicitations to your Honor upon the 
eightieth anniversary of your birth. 

It has been your Honor's good fortune to have held 
as many important official positions as any man in 
Missouri, and you have discharged your duty in them 
all with ability and efficiency, and to the satisfaction 
of the people. 

Having lived to a happy old age, we sincerely trust 
that you may yet be spared for many years to enjoy 
the brilliant evening of an eminently successful and 
well-spent life, surrounded by your family and 
friends. 

If the Court please, as we all know. Judge Henry 
S. Priest is the only living predecessor of your Honor 
in the office of Judge of the United States District 
Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Our 
Committee in charge of the program thought it would 



Octogenarian 297 



be eminently fitting for him to be called upon first. 
He is present and will make a few remarks. 

JUDGE HENRY S. PRIEST 

The eightieth anniversary of your birth affords the 
members of your bar a fitting occasion to express to 
you their affectionate congratulations. They rejoice 
that in your pilgrimage thus far you have enjoyed 
more than the usual happiness that attends mankind ; 
that God gave you health and strength to do the many 
good things your generous spirit and benevolent am- 
bition led you to do ; that you have served your fellows 
and your country unselfishly and heroically ; that you 
have the light of vast experience and observation ; and 
they hope that many happy years may yet be added to 
the span of your life so that they maj^ enjoy the de- 
lights of your companionship, the counsel of your 
wisdom and the example of your deeply imbedded and 
generously cultivated humanity and patriotism. 

You came to your profession under the training of 
an older thought that gave development and mastery 
to the man. The Constitution and Statutes, Black- 
stone and Kent, was the lawyer's library. With the 
summary of the purpose and function of government 
as expressed in the Constitution, and the principles 
of natural justice, attested by tradition and sanc- 
tioned by reason, they were prepared to vindicate 
right, justice and liberty and repel all aggressions 
against them. Their authority was reason. They 
studied hmnanity, its strength and its weakness, and 
sympathized with it. They were leaders of men and 
guided by high ideals. Out of the coinage of their 



298 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

own intellects they made precedent to meet the com- 
plications of advancing or enlarging civilization. 
They knew morality and ethics, and used them to 
break the harshness of cold logic. 

What a galaxy of these old heroes you can recall ! 
You were with them and of them and in their front 
ranks. There were Henderson and Fagg, of the bar 
to which you were first admitted, Broadhead, Glover, 
Shepley, Gantt, Noble, Wagner, Vest, Adams, Fink- 
elnburg and Medill. Those are merely some of your 
earlier distinguished colleagues. They have gone to 
rest. Their memory is a rich legacy to the bar, and 
what must be the memory of their association to you 
in all the fullness and abandon of its intimate friend- 
ship? 

But a few have continued on, as you have, to glad- 
den us with their society and enrich us with their wis- 
dom and counsel. Col. Wells H. Blodgett, Judge John 
F. Philips, Judge Geo. H. Shields, Judge Chester H. 
Krum, Judge Rassieur, Judge Rombauer and Gover- 
nor Johnson are still uestors of the bar. 

I recall but one of this coterie of great men who 
was not shoulder to shoulder with you in that great 
tragedy of the Civil War, that meant so much for the 
destiny of our people. We issued from that conflict 
a nation with implied powers as broad as national 
necessities. Until 1887 the average lawyer had little 
need to refer to the Federal Statutes. The sharp 
departure from the course of national legislation then 
began as to the instruments of interstate commerce — 
it has now extended vastly, to things and persons also. 
There is a constant tendency in human nature to un- 



Octogenarian 299 



wisely use power. It is safe in wise hands — subject 
to absurd extravagances in unwise hands. 

Changes, vast changes, in the concept of the prov- 
ince of government, its methods, administrators and 
the mutual relation of government and its people have 
come upon the stage for trial. Whether they shall be 
progressive or retrogressive, endure for good or be 
abandoned as hurtful, depends upon the intelligence 
and patriotism of the people, and the action of the 
people depends upon the character and wisdom of 
their leaders. 

What a wonderful period the span of your life has 
covered! What momentous changes have taken 
place! Perhaps in no like period in the annals of 
the world has human activity been more energetic 
and progressive. Agriculture, industry, science, art, 
transportation and politics have bounded forward 
with leaps. 

By territorial expansion and contiguity this nation 
has advanced to the foremost position in interna- 
tional power, and is engaged in conflict that its high 
aims and purposes may be vindicated, perpetuated 
and impressed upon the civilization of the world. 

As you have aided by precept, counsel and author- 
ity in this sacred contest, may you live long to see 
and enjoy the fruits of its early and happy termina- 
tion. 



The Chairman: The next speaker selected is a 
friend of your Honor's early manhood. Governor 
Charles P. Johnson. 



300 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

GOV. CHARLES P. JOHNSON 

May it please the Court, and Judge Dyer : 

I am here to congratulate you upon reaching your 
eightieth birthday. I take great pleasure in doing 
so upon this happy occasion, and I voice the wishes 
and feelings of the Bar, who here largely represented 
unite with me in that congratulation. I do so not only 
because of your having reached such an advanced age, 
but I congratulate you upon a long and successful 
career that reflects credit upon yourself ; credit upon 
all those endeared to you, and credit upon the bar of 
the City of St. Louis and State of Missouri. 

And I do not deem it inappropriate on this occa- 
sion to refer to some events in that career authoriz- 
ing my assertion. 

You and I met in the dawn of youth ; we stepped 
upon the platform of actual life together with all the 
buoyancy of youth. Nearly sixty years have passed 
since the first meeting between us, and since that 
time uninterrupted friendship has existed. We have 
professionally and politically almost run in paral- 
lel lines. What I say therefore comes from the heart, 
as well as from the intellect. I speak in the voice of 
friendship. 

I remember in those first daj^s of our association I 
found out your ambitions ; I found out your ideals ; 
I found out what was in you. You had just come 
from the school of boyhood — that pioneer school, 
rough in itself, that made strong, vigorous and manly 
men. We both had gone through that. It was a per- 
iod that made notable and great men. 

You came from that school and entered on your 
public career just at a period of the most vital history 



Octogenarian 301 



of the nation. I consider with great satisfaction the 
remembrance that I stood beside you. 

Over fifty years ago we were both members of the 
House of Representatives. I might say a revolution- 
ary government existed. Our Governor was a rebel. 
I remember how firm you were in your defense of 
Abraham Lincoln, as against the sneers of the party 
opposed to us, and in favor of secession. I remember 
then the spirit that actuated you ; the love of country 
and the patriotism you had in your heart, and I 
learned at that time the aspirations and ambitions 
in you which were to lead you on in the course that 
you have since followed. 

Time will not enable me on this occasion, nor is it 
appropriate for me to deal too particularly upon 
those associations. But that was the first chapter 
in your life when you showed what you thought and 
what you believed. From that on further honors 
were extended to you. There came a time for carry- 
ing into practical methods, I might say, your ideals. 
You joined the army. You belonged to that grand 
army who fought for the preservation of the Union 
and you were willing to give your life for your ideals. 
You heard the call of duty and patriotism and obeyed 
it, and as your friend I looked with pride upon you. 
You bore yourself well as a soldier. 

When the war was over you returned to your pro- 
fession. You always loved your profession. I know 
that. You returned to your profession and remained 
there until that grand old man whom you and I both 
knew, Ulysses Grant, appointed you to the responsi- 
ble position of District Attorney. The record of the 
time you served needs no comment in your behalf. 



302 Autohiog raph y and Reminiscences 

The record of David P. Dyer when he held that office 
was a brilliant one. He fought corruption in the 
highest as well as in the lowest places. Bravely, 
fearlessly and mthout favor he fought in the legal 
arena and brought down corruption and the corrupt, 
with one exception. I remember upon one occasion 
when that occurred he said to me that if he did not 
bring him down, he at least roosted lower. 

There were great men in that time who reflected 
credit upon the Bar. A great judge, Dillon, sat upon 
the bench, and at the Bar appeared some of the 
brightest, fairest and greatest legal intellects of the 
country. There were notable forensic combats ; they 
reflected credit upon the country, and they were not 
surpassed by the notable forensic efforts in England. 
Those trials are historical. As time passes on and 
the student of law reads of that period he will read 
of the mental and intellectual combats of that time. 

You stood the equal of any of them ; you held your 
own in those combats, and you held it fearlessly. I 
am proud to recur to that period as your friend. 

I cannot help but associate your career in some re- 
spects with my own. We were rarely divergent poli- 
tically. In the halls of Congress you were right in 
the polic.y you adopted in the reconstruction move- 
ment. I was wrong. That was one of the small 
divergences. Your record in Congress was an honor- 
alDle one. But I have not the time to dwell on that. 

But honors come again, and that t\T)ical American, 
that man who represents, as you might say, the long- 
ings and aspirations of the republic — Roosevelt, 
appointed you to the position that you occupy. You 
have faithfully and fearlessly served in that capacity. 



Octogenarian 303 



You will pardon me if I refer to one characteristic 
that was always predominant in my friend Dyer — 
he always had and has a sympathetic heart. In the 
administration of the serious duties as a prosecutor, 
he never oppressed ; he even extended sjrmpathies to 
my poor, opium-eating Chinamen ; and the same can 
be said of him in his action as a Judge. 

And now old age has come upon you, comparatively 
speaking. Eighty years is a pretty good age. I 
have a right to talk, because I am your senior, and I 
always did talk to you '^from the shoulder." I state 
to you, and it is not the voice of flattery, that your 
record is a great and notable one; that you have 
made it in all the positions that you have ever held. 
I know you do not like flattery, but I state the truth. 
You ought to be congratulated (as I congratulate 
myself) and you ought to consider yourself grandly 
blessed because of the great period in which you have 
been allowed to live. 

What a grand era in the history of the world has 
passed over in eighty years! What mighty events; 
what advances in every direction in the civilization 
of the world; and what a grand galaxy of men you 
and I have met at the Bar during that period! I 
might recall them, but some were recalled by my 
friend. Judge Priest. They were great men. Al- 
most all of them have passed away, but you are still 
here in vigor. 

And now let me ask what is the reason of the 
honors that you have here extended to you? Why 
have you been a success ? I will tell you why, and I 
know whereof I speak. The motto guiding you in 
your career, which, like many of the young men 



304 Atctohio graphy and Reminiscences 

of that earlier period, you received from your Chris- 
tian mother, was ''Do your duty." Regardless of all 
other considerations, that has been your object in 
every responsibility that has been placed upon you. 
''Do your duty." It is the same motto that has in- 
fluenced and moved men in every really heroic action 
in the history of the world. It should be the motto of 
every young lawyer at the bar who expects success and 
a conscientious realization of his own worth before 
he lays down his life and goes to his grave. "Do your 
duty." You have done nothing if you have not 
strived to do that. That is the touchstone of your 
success, and nothing more. You are not entitled to 
extraordinary consideration for doing that, because 
most all good men try to do the same thing, but you 
have been peculiarly blessed in doing your duty, and 
received the highest of honors for the manner you 
did it. 

And now in conclusion : You have lived to see your 
beloved country occupying the leading position 
among the nations of the earth, forced into and em- 
barked in the greatest war the world has ever wit- 
nessed. A war for humanity, for right, for justice, 
for a higher civilization. I know how it stirs your 
patriotism. Well, let me express a wish that you may 
live at least long enough to see the triumph of our 
country in the mighty conflict, the destruction of 
autocracy, the spread of universal democracy, the 
brotherhood of nations and the security for all time 
against the evils and horrors of war. 



The Chairman : Mr. Frederick N. Judson, a prom- 



Octogenarian 305 



inent member of the State and Federal bar, will uow 
address the Court. 

MR. FREDERICK N. JUDSON 

May it please your Honors : 

It has been wisely said that it is not so important 
how many years a man lives as it is how much he lives. 
How forcibly this is impressed upon us when we re- 
view your Honor's career! 

It was your good fortune to begin active life in the 
great State of Missouri shortly before the Ci^dl War ; 
indeed while the prelude to this great drama, which 
was about to convulse the nation, w^as being enacted 
within the borders of Missouri. 

Owing to our divided population the Civil War had 
a meaning in this State which it did not have in any 
other part of the country. 

You not only served your country in this national 
crisis in the army, but also in the legislature of this 
State, where you assisted in the grave legislative 
problems presented by the war. 

After the Civil War, as a member of the National 
Congress from this State, you aided in the different 
problems of reconstruction of the Southern States, 
and thus participated in this grave crisis of our 
national history. 

Returning to the bar after this public service, you 
were called to act as public prosecutor for the Govern- 
ment, and your term of office was notable for the 
successful conduct of prosecutions which engaged the 
attention of the country. 

With your years of successful and honorable ser- 



306 Autobiography and ' Remimscences 

vice at the bar, both State and Federal, we are all 
familiar. 

I cannot forego reminding your Honor of your 
notable service as a citizen when you served the 
Church, as well as the State, in the Diocesan Con- 
vention of the Episcopal Church, where you rendered 
notable assistance in calling to the Bishopric of the 
Diocese of Missouri the venerable and beloved Bishop 
Daniel S. Tuttle, who has himself but recently reached 
his four score years, and is still in the active discharge 
of his duties as the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal 
Church of the United States. 

After again acting as prosecutor of the Govern- 
ment, you were called to the Federal bench — the 
crowning honor of your career. It is indeed fitting 
that your busy life, which began with the service of 
your country and State in the Civil War, should end 
with the expounding and enforcing of the powers of 
the Federal Government expanded for the greatest 
war of human history. 

How much indeed have you lived in the midst of 
such stirring events of the world 's history. You may 
say, in the words of Virgil, ^^ quorum pars magna 
fuir 

Above all we must felicitate your Honor on this 
notable occasion in that you have the rare fortune of 
preserving to the evening of life the courage, the 
geniality, the enthusiasm and the broad love of hu- 
manity, which are the incidents of youth. 

God grant that for many years to come you may 
enjoy the memories of your busy and useful life. 



The Chairman : If the Court please. Judge Krum 



Octogenarian 307 



has also been requested to make a brief address to- 
day. 

JUDGE CHESTER H. KRUM 

If the Court please, and my brethren of the Bar : 

There is one good thing at least pertaining to the 
whirligig of time: It has its compensations in that 
it is constructive as well as destructive. 

When, in 1864, Mr. Justice Samuel F. Miller, of 
blessed memory, admitted to the bar of this Court one 
David Patterson Dyer, perhaps he little dreamed, 
doubtless he had no occasion to even surmise, that in 
the course of time the person so appointed would be- 
come the Judge of this Court, worthy successor of a 
line of distinguished men. 

His Honor, Judge Dyer, will perhaps recall that my 
own admission to this bar, at the hands of the 
same eminent jurist, antedated his own a few months, 
and that when he. Dyer, approached me for the pur- 
pose of learning, if he could, how it was that I hap- 
pened to get through, and I told him that it was prob- 
ably because I was at that time so exceptionally well 
grounded in the rule in Shelley's case. Dyer assented 
without the slightest hesitation. On the other hand 
(perhaps he will agree with me that I have an indis- 
tinct recollection — possibly fortunate because it is 
indistinct) when I went to him after he was admitted, 
and implored him to indicate to me, if he could, how 
it could have happened that he got throvigh, he 
said, * ' The fact is, Krum, I put one over on the great 
expounder of the Constitution. When he asked me 
that searching question in that profound way of his, 
*Mr. Dyer, what is fee simple?' I told him, *Well, 



308 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Judge, fee simple — ahem — fee simple; fee simple 
and a simple fee, and all the fees entailed are nothing 
when compared to thee, thou best of fees, female.' " 

Now, I submit that Mr. Justice Miller, feeling that 
he could not help himself, was led thereupon to admit 
that candidate without further inquiry. 

But, my brethren, an occasion of this description 
is peculiarly auspicious; that is, to the Bar. It is 
not often that a Bar has its Judge at such a disad- 
vantage that all that he can do is to receive and accept 
whatever is said to him, or in regard to hun, without 
protest on his own part and without the privilege of 
even entering a single exception. 

Yet the occasion is not altogether without advan- 
tage to the Judge. He receives high encomiums, 
hearty congratulations, and the Bar finds him at 
eighty wide awake (somewhat obstreperous on 
occasions, to be sure), and always showing that he is 
possessed of good, sound common sense. So the Bar 
must conclude that if a Judge of that description is 
found here at this advanced age, there could not have 
been much foundation for the suggestion of 
Montaigne that ''The age of youth is the summit of 
human efficiency." 

It may well be that the world was dominated by the 
Emperor Augustus at the age of nineteen, as has 
been noted by this garrulous but distinguished writer, 
but Montaigne (I speak with unpunity) never had 
the mellifluous privilege of encountering at eighty, or 
thereabouts, one David Patterson Dyer, when he felt 
called upon to indicate some views on the part of the 
Court in contradiction of views expressed by counsel 
with whom he did not happen at the time to agree. 



Octogenarian 309 



Wh}^ my brethren, it has been said that there are 
nis:hts which are filled with music, but I take it that 
there have been court days when in a jurisdiction not 
necessary to be named, sonorous metal has been em- 
ployed blowing martial sounds. Prudence requires 
that I should neither name the occasion, nor indicate 
the employer of the sonorosity. 

The Judge has another advantage well worth bear- 
ing in mind. He receives all the encomiums and testi- 
monials of esteem by way of ante rather than post 
mortem presentation. Now, although I have had no 
experience in that direction, I deem it safe to indi- 
cate that almost anyone would prefer the ante to the 
post method of exploitation. 

But, Judge Dyer, your Bar sincerely congratulate 
you upon this occasion. They feel with yourself, that 
the standard by which the Bar should be guided, is 
the standard which is erected by the Judge himself. 

In the presence of this eloquent line of present- 
ments of your predecessors portrayed upon these 
walls, together with that of yourself, a spirit of 
emulation is necessarily aroused, and to those who 
are coming on to future successes there must arise 
the hope, ^^ For sit an et nostrem nomen miscehitur 
istis. ' ' 

Judge, it would be an injustice to my own sense of 
propriety if I did not upon this occasion approach 
you with a presentation of far deeper import than 
that which would ordinarily proceed from a member 
of your Bar. Lowell bade Hohnes erase those silly 
records that made believe that he was seventy-five. 
May I not with that great poet say, ''You are the old 
Dyer still to me, and that is the youngest man alive. ^' 



310 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

''You keep your youth like yon Scotch firs 

That my horizon hems, 
Though twilight all the lowland blurs 

Hold twilight in their ruddy stems. 
Outlive us all ; outlive us all ! 

Who else like you could sift the seed corn from 
our chafe?" 



The Chairman: If the Court please, as your 
Honor well knows, on occasions like this sometimes 
the best of the wine is reserved until the last of the 
feast. We were not sure until this morning that 
Judge Philips, of Kansas City, w^ould be here, so we 
placed him at the bottom of the list, although he 
deserved to be at the top to tell what he knows about 
your Honor. You w^ere colleagues in the Union 
Army, and afterwards both of you were upon the 
Federal bench in Missouri. Every man, woman and 
child here today wants to hear from Judge John F. 
Philips. 

HON. JOHN F. PHILIPS 

Judge U. S. District Court, Western District 

of Missouri 

(retired) 

May it please the Court, and ladies and gentlemen : 
I am sure that I will get your good opinion of my 

judgment when I say at the outset that my talk will 

be much briefer than my subject. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Judge Dyer came 

and talked at my funeral when I ceased to be a Judge, 

he has positively refused to die while I live, for fear 



Octogenarian 311 



that I might talk at his funeral. I therefore seize 
with avidity this opportuniy to tell him to his face 
what I think about him. 

I saw Judge Dyer's ascending star rise in the 
political and professional sky as far back as 1860 and 
1861. From that day to this I have marked his 
course with keen interest, because there was some- 
thing wonderfully attractive in his personality; in 
what he said and how he said it ; and in what he did 
and how he did it. Through all the vicissitudes, 
changes and revolutions of the cmnulative years we 
have rarely diverged in sentunent. We have held in 
common the same ideals of citizenship, and we have 
drunk the same inspiring spirit of patriotism. 

Judge Dyer's career has made a red-letter chapter 
in the history of Missouri. He has been honored by 
the State, and he has honored the State. He has been 
honored by the Nation, and he has honored it. With- 
out any pretention to academic attainments, or to 
*' black-lettered wisdom," such were his intellectual 
endowments, his self-assertion and aggressiveness, 
and his gifts of speech, that by the very force of 
specific ascension he rose to high positions of distinc- 
tion. And possessing in rare degree that indefinable 
quality of mind and heart that drew, like a magnet, 
to him men of all classes, he has made few enemies 
and lost fewer friends than any man of affirmation 
I know. The only things in his public life, known to 
me, that detract from his respectability, are the facts 
that he was a member of the State Legislature and of 
Congress. But he has lived so long, after these acts, 
that the episodes have been almost forgotten by the 



312 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

public, and it may be ungracious to recall these in- 
cidents on an occasion like this. 

Breathing, as he did, in his "May of youth and 
bloom of lustihood," the atmosphere of Pike County 
— that generated lawyers, legislators, statesmen, 
office seekers and office holders, as the genial sunshine 
of spring kindles into energized life the seed in the 
ground, it was not wonderful that he became fired 
with ambition to achieve greatness and a name. 

As a mere side adventure he also sought the ' ' pomp 
and circmnstance of glorious war." Following the 
high waving plume of his leader, John B. Henderson, 
he won his spurs in his first encounter with that re- 
doubtable knight errant. General Jeff Jones, of the 
"Kingdom of Calloway," who, after a day's parley, 
sued for peace. Putting Jeff under bonds to keep 
the peace, with a collateral understanding that he 
should not go outside of the County, unless Hender- 
son and Dyer came into it, Henderson was breveted 
Brigadier General and Dyer was made a Colonel. 

Then eagerly turning his steps into the primrose 
paths of peace. Dyer began to gather new laurels in 
civic achievements, and put himself in a receptive 
mood for anything good that came his way. He met 
with such success as a lawyer as to attract public 
attention at home and abroad, resulting in his 
appointment as United States Attorney for the 
Eastern District of Missouri. Because of his per- 
sonal knowledge of the ways of "the whiskey men," 
he achieved a national reputation in the prosecution 
of the ' ' Whiskey Eing. ' ' A second time was the honor 
of the office conferred upon him. While he became 
the dread of vicious offenders against the federal 



Octogenarian 313 



statutes, lie was ever the covert of the innocent, and 
the good Samaritan of the unfortunate. He so ad- 
ministered his office as to receive the special approval 
of the Department of Justice. From this vantage 
ground the way was made easy for his friends to 
secure him the preferment to the United States 
judgeship for this district. The only serious objec- 
tion made to his appointment was *'old age," and 
President Roosevelt awarded him the commission 
with the understanding that he was neither to die 
nor resign within ten years. And he has made good. 
For over ten years he has administered the vast busi- 
ness of this Court without bankrupting it, and it is 
still *'a going concern," doubtless to the great dis- 
appointment of the waiting expectants for the 
succession. 

I admire Judge Dyer for his absolute naturalness 
and sincerity. There is not in his nature an atom of 
hypocrisy, nor about hun the meretricious display of 
the canting Pharisee. He has never been so bad as 
he is good. He has never been so temperate that he 
would not eat when he was hungry, if he could get it, 
or to refuse to take a drink if he wanted it and could 
get it. He was never so pious as not to swear on 
occasions. He was never so amiable as to be inane, 
or so dignified as to be supercilious. He was never 
so rich as to become avaricious, or so poor as not to 
be proud. He never had a dollar he would not divide 
with a friend — or risk in a game of chance. He has 
not worn out his constitution with overwork, as he 
had the philosophy to stop and go "a-fishing" when 
he felt the approach of weariness. 

It may be pardonable to say that as Judge he has 



314 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

reached the ends of concrete justice rather by in- 
tuition than the slower process of induction. With 
a keen insight into the nature and relation of things, 
guided by the genius of common sense, Judge Dyer 
has probably hit about as near the mark as some who 
exercise a more technical analysis or severer investi- 
gation in making applications. So through it all he 
has preserved a ruddy countenance, instead of pre- 
senting a haggard face "all sicklied o'er with the pale 
cast of thought. ' ' Like some of the rest of us, he has 
been reversed, and consoled himself with the reflection 
of the late Tom Fimlin, of Kansas, that after all 
'*Law is but the last utterance by way of guess of the 
last fellow in authority." 

Because of the way in which Judge Dyer wears his 
eyebrows (like the pendant moss from a Southland 
oak tree), he may not be regarded as a "thing of 
beauty," but he has always been "a joy forever" to 
the multitudes who have witnessed the flashes of his 
wit, caught the drift of his quaint humor, or listened 
to his exhaustless repertory of apt and original 
stories, and especially to those who have been brought 
within the charm of his genuine friendships. 

While it is not given unto mortals to make the 
warm gulf stream of youth flow on indefinitely into 
the artic region of age, the octogenarian can find 
solace in the philosophy of Steele, who said: 

"An healthy old man, who is not a fool, is the 
happiest creature living. It is at that time of 
life he enjoys only his faculties with pleasure 
and satisfaction. It is then we have nothing to 
manage, as the phrase is ; we can speak the down- 
right truth, and whether the rest of the world will 



Octogenaricm 315 



give us the privilege or not ; as we have so little to 
ask of them that we can take it. ' ' 

While Judge Dyer will never feel the full measure 
of personal independence and freedom so long as he 
is manacled with the restraints of office, from ex- 
perience I can commend to him the wine of old age 
prescribed by the ancient philosopher. It will ex- 
hilarate, if it do not intoxicate. 

As today Judge Dyer stands in the sunset glow of 
life, it must be a sweet satisfaction to him to look 
back over the long and dusty road he has traveled, 
and see that no serpent's trail lies over his pathway; 
no shadow of dishonor rests over it, but that the whole 
way is flooded with the sunshine of blessings reflected 
from his fruitful life. And as he looks over this vast 
assemblage of Judges and lawyers, and other notable 
worthies, gathered in this chamber to pay the full 
measure of the tribute of affectionate regard, he feels, 
no doubt as never before, that after all, ''Friendship 
is the only rose without a thorn. ' ' 

For yourself, my dear Judge, my wish is that you 
may remain upon the bench as long as you desire, and 
your judgment approve ; and that like the aloe plant 
you may flourish and bloom at the century mark ; and 
for myself, that I might be present to say, as I now 
say, ''All hail to the Grand Old Man." 



JUDGE WALTER H. SANBORN 

We have listened with pleasure, gentlemen of the 
Bar, to the eloquent tributes to the character and 
service of our beloved and honored associate. Judge 
Dyer. 



316 Autohiogy^apliy and Reminiscences 

We congratulate him that you have presented these 
testimonials here and now, while he yet lives in the full 
vigor of all his mental and physical powers ; here and 
now while he may enjoy that greatest boon vouchsafed 
to man on earth, the respect, affection and honor of 
his worthy fellow men. And we congratulate you, his 
friends and members of the Bar, that you have today 
the satisfaction of having given hun that great grati- 
fication. 

A loving and devoted husband and father ; a friend 
without shadow of turning ; a loyal and active citizen, 
whose love of country through all his long and honor- 
able career has never known any sacrifice too great 
to preserve her unity, or vindicate her honor ; a soldier 
who grasped and enjoyed the duties, for the love of 
his country, of a soldier's life as his greatest joy; a 
wise, earnest and effective legislator ; a successful and 
renowned practicing lawyer ; a prosecuting attorney, 
whom the guilty had small chance to escape, and an 
impartial, independent, able and efficient judicial 
officer, he has well earned all the abundant honors that 
have been showered upon him, and we join with you 
in the wish and hope that his vigor, his life and his 
service may long be continued here. 



JUDGE DAVID P. DYER 

Members of the Bar, ladies and gentlemen : 

I am without suitable and appropriate language 
to fitly express the gratitude that I feel toward you 
and others w^ho have kindly come to the court room 
this morning to manifest by your presence and ex- 
press by your words friendly congratulations on the 



Octogenarian 317 



occasion of this, the eightieth anniversary of my 
birth. 

The words that you have chosen to convey such 
congratulations touch my heart to its very depths. 
In the necessarily short time that is left to me to be 
among you, I hope to retain the friendship and good 
wishes of you all. 

It has been said that ''with a clear sky, a bright 
sun and a gentle breeze you will have friends in 
plenty; but let fortune frown and the firmament be 
overcast, and then your friends will prove like the 
strings of the lute, of which you will tighten ten 
before you find one that will bear the stretch and keep 
the pitch." However true that may be of others, it 
has not been so with me, for when fortune in the 
course of my life frowned and the firmament was 
overcast, I found not one alone, but many out of ten 
who bore the stretch and kept the pitch. 

In all of the vicissitudes of my long life I have 
been thankful for ''the rose that smiles amidst the 
thorns and the light that ever shines behind the 
clouds." 

It may not be out of place for me to say in answer 
to the kind words that have been spoken, that I have 
tried hard to keep and observe the oath that was 
administered to me in this court room nearly eleven 
year ago. 

No one knows better than I the mistakes that I have 
made, but it is exceedingly gratifying to know that 
you, my brothers, are generous enough to excuse the 
mistakes and overlook the faults that have been mine. 
In the time that I have been Judge there have been 
seventy-three regular terms of the Court held in St. 



318 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Louis, Hannibal and Cape Girardeau, and I am pro- 
foundly thankful to the "Giver of every good and 
perfect gift" for the strength of body and mind that 
has enabled me to be present and open the Court on 
the first day of each term. 

Whatever mistakes I may have made, I never al- 
lowed politics to play any part in the conduct of my 
office. In the few appointments it has been my duty 
to make, I have endeavored to get the most efficient 
men for the work, regardless of their politics or re- 
ligious opinions. 

To W. W. Nail, the Clerk, and the efficient force 
in his office, as well as to Walter D. Coles, the Referee 
in Bankruptcy, the Court is greatly indebted. The 
Court is also indebted to the crier of the Court, Mr. 
McCune, and to the faithful bailiffs who have at- 
tended upon the Court. 

I am gratified to state that since the consolidation, 
on January 1, 1912, of the business of the United 
States Circuit and District Courts for this district, 
the business of the Clerk's office has never cost the 
United States a single dollar. The receipts of the 
office from other sources have been sufficient to pay 
all of the expenses, including the salaries of the Clerk 
and his assistants, and in addition thereto has enabled 
the Clerk to pay a large surplus into the United States 
Treasury each year. This surplus has been in excess 
of the salary of the Judge and the per diem of the 
bailiffs. 

In my course on the bench (if I may be permitted 
to say so) I have tried to administer justice to the rich 
and to the poor alike. I have tried to find out where 
the right lay, and have never spent much time nor 



Octogenarian 319 



burned much oil looking for legal technicalities to 
defeat the right. 

"Judges are guided and governed by the eter- 
nal laws of justice to which we are all subject. 
We may bite our chains, if we will ; but we shall 
be made to know ourselves and be taught that 
man is born to be governed by law ; and he that 
will substitute will in the place of it is an enemy 
to God." 

In his great speech on "Law Reform," Lord 
Brougham said: 

"It was the boast of Augustus — it formed 
part of the glare in which the perfidies of his 
earlier years were lost — that he found Rome of 
brick and left it of marble. But how much nobler 
will be the sovereign's boast when he shall have it 
to say, that he found the law dear and left it 
cheap; found it a sealed book, left it a living 
letter ; found it the patrimony of the rich, left it 
the inheritance of the poor ; found it the two- 
edged sword of craft and oppression, left it the 
staff of honesty and the shield of innocence. 



>> 



Those are words — burning, eloquent words, that 
should be the "pillar of cloud by day and the pillar 
of fire by night" to guide the footsteps of every lover 
of law and the rights of man. 

I want to thank you all, lawyers and laymen, again 
for coming here this morning. I appreciate more 
than I can say your cordial congratulations. 



MR. JOHN W. MATSON 

Your Pike County friends would like verj^ much to 
say a few words to you, Judge Dyer. 

One of the speakers referred to the fact that when 



320 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

you began the practice of law your principal library 
was Blackstone and Kent. But you had a greater 
library, that we in your homeland know of. It was 
the library that comes from the inspiration of men 
like yourself, who study and know the people, with 
a heart that scintillates around the goal. 

I have been requested on this occasion to tell you 
that from the County of Pike (and we concede 
nothing to be greater than our own County) comes to 
you today the sentiment that you yourself have always 
radiated among its people — the people who know 
you; the people who love you. 

No one who has ever appealed to you has failed to 
receive the response of that humanity that is inherent 
in great minds and great beings. Show to me a man 
who is honored and respected always in his home- 
land, and I will point out to you one of the greatest 
men who lives. 

Such a man we knew Judge Dyer to be in Pike 
County, his homeland. We recount his many good 
deeds, extended to everyone who has ever appealed 
to him at any time of his career. Whatever may be 
the need, they turn at once to Judge Dyer, knowing 
well that he will aid and help them if it be within his 
power to do so. He has been a consoler to many. 
Not long ago an old negro died in Pike County, whom 
the Judge used to know. When the Judge came 
home the wife of this darkey met him, and with grief 
and weeping told him of her loss. With his usual 
disposition to make others happy, he said to her, 
*' Don't grieve; stop crying. That good old husband 
of yours is in a better land than this. ' ' Maria said, 
** Judge, I knows him better than you do. I hope that 




Ldving Ci'p Presented hv Friends from Pike County, Missouri 



Octogenarian 323 

to be true, but all I can say about liiiu is that I hope 
he am where I fear he ain't." 

We did not feel that we could come here today with- 
out leaving with you some memento, some token, of 
our love; something that would be handed down to 
future generations, that would recall the noble deeds 
and acts you have done ; something that we hope you 
will cherish, for out of it, in it and around it is the 
unbounded love and admiration we have for you. 

Without taking more time, I will say, in the 
language of Thomas Moore, this cup is like the vase 
that has once been filled with roses — "You may 
break, you may shatter the vase, if you will, but the 
scent of the roses will hang around it still.'' 

Please accept this cup with the love of the people 
of Pike County. 



Judge Dyer: Mr. Matson, the people of Pike 
County never loved me half as well as I loved them. 
It was there my wife was born ; it was there I was 
married, and it was there my children were born. 
The day will never be too long, nor the night too dark, 
for me to respond, as best I can, to the demands and 
wishes of that people. 

I thank you; I thank you. 

This is the one hundred and ninth anniversary of 
the birth of one of the wisest, gentlest, sweetest and 
most lovable characters that ever blessed the world — 
Abraham Lincoln. In honor of his memory, and the 
noble deeds wrought by him, the Court will now ad- 
journ until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. 

Adjourn the Court, Mr. McCune. 



324 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Mr. McCune : The honorable District Court of the 
United States for the Eastern Division of the Eastern 
Judicial District of Missouri is now adjourned imtil 
ten o'clock tomorrow morning. 



GREETINGS PROM THE PIKE COUNTY 
COLONY IN ST. LOUIS 

Messrs. Isaac H. Orr, C. H. McMillan, Virgil Rule, 
Davis C. Biggs, Thomas L. Anderson, H. L. Block 
and Dr. B. A. Wilkes called on Judge Dyer in Cham- 
bers and presented a beautiful floral tribute in be- 
half of the Pike County Colony in St. Louis. 

Mr. Orr, acting as spokesman, said : 

Judge Dyer, we come as a Committee from the 
Pike County Colony in St. Louis, to offer a word of 
congratulation and felicitation on this eightieth 
anniversary of your birth. 

You have received today from the bench and the 
bar the best possible evidence of their esteem. I 
doubt if a more memorable meeting has ever been 
held in a Missouri court room. While the heart of 
every member of the Colony swells with pride at these 
well deserved honors heaped upon you by your pro- 
fessional and judicial brethren, we feel that we want 
to come closer and speak to you out of our heart of 
hearts, to tell you how happy we are in your continued 
health, and to express our personal appreciation of 
the love and friendship which exists between you and 
every member of this Colony. 

Ours is not a professional relation. It is not the 
lawyer or Judge we felicitate today ; it is the friend 
and benefactor of our fathers, as well as our friend 



Octogenarian 325 



aud helper. Your contemporaries in our home 
county, our forebears, have gone to their reward. 
You alone remain. We, who have now reached 
middle life, iirst learned to respect you at our 
mother's knee. The story of your early achieve- 
ments was familiar to us in childhood — how you 
came to Bowling Green as a country boy to study law, 
and became a lawyer; how you had married the 
daughter of the Judge ; had gone to the legislature ; 
became Circuit Attorney ; had raised a regiment and 
led it forth to battle for human liberty, and, after re- 
turning from the war, had been elected to Congress. 
These were public achievements. 

We also learned how in a thousand ways you had 
served and befriended the individual members of the 
community. Those were the days when you had time 
to be a member of the Board of Education, and to 
help plan and build the first real public school build- 
ing in your home town. It was you who helped plan 
for a brick court house, a gravel road system, and 
other things, which added to the comfort and welfare 
of the people, and all of this without enriching your- 
self. Every man, woman and child was your friend, 
because you were their friend. These were matters 
of conmion knowledge, impressed upon us as children. 
As we grew to manhood and followed you to St. 
Louis, the interest of the father was transferred to 
the son. Your kindly interest in the welfare of each 
one of us has been made manifest whenever and wher- 
ever needed. Many of our number have attained 
positions of influence in this great city, largely 
through your wise counsel and personal assistance. 

As the organizer and President of the Pike County 



326 Autohiography and Reminiscences 

Colony in St. Louis, you have kept in touch with the 
younger generations from our home county, and 
fostered a spirit of friendship and co-operation, which 
has kept alive and strengthened a fraternal feeling 
for each other among the sons of our historic county. 
These flowers can only visualize in a small degree 
the happiness we feel as our lips would express the 
prayer of our hearts, which is that 

*^The Lord will bless thee and keep thee; 
That He will make His face shine upon thee, 

and be gracious unto thee; 
That the Lord will lift up His countenance 
upon thee, and give thee peace," 

and that the eventide of your earthly career will be 
lengthened so that you may yet enjoy many helpful, 
happy days. 



LETTERS OF CONGRATULATION 

Many letters and telegrams have come to the Com- 
mittee and to Judge Dyer from all parts of the 
country, containing felicitations, all of which were 
gratefully received and highly appreciated. From 
these a few have been selected as typical of the rest : 

United States Circuit Court of Appeals 
Eighth Circuit 

Kansas City, Missouri, 
February 5, 1918. 
Honorable James E. Withrow, 

Third National Bank Building, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
My dear Judge Withrow : 
Your kind invitation of fourth instant to be present 



Octogenarian 327 



on the 12th to unite with you and other gentlemen in 
tendering Judge Dyer congratulations upon his 
eightieth birthday, just received. 

If it is possible for me to be there at that time I 
shall not deny myself the pleasure. 

If I cannot be present, I hope you will tender my 
heartiest congratulations and sincerest good wishes to 
Judge Dyer, for whom I have a very great admiration 
and fondness. 

Very respectfully yours, 

KIMBROUGH STONE. 



United States Circuit Court of Appeals 
Eighth Circuit 

Council Bluffs, 

February 8, 1918. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 
United States District Court, 
Eastern District of Missouri, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
My dear Judge : 

I am again reminded that on next Tuesday, the 12th, 
you will celebrate your eightieth birthday. This re- 
minds me that General Issac N. Sherwood, of Ohio, 
was born in Dutchess County, New York, August 13, 
1835, and is still living and a representative in Con- 
gress from Toledo at this time. 

On May 6, 1916, the day before the eightieth birth- 
day of Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, General Sherwood, 
in speaking of the eightieth birthday of Ex-Speaker 
Cannon, said: 

"It is a mistake to suppose that a man who has 
reached the age of eighty years has reached the 



328 Autobiography and Beminiseences 

acme of his intellectual development. Pope Leo 
XIII and John Adams were in the full possession 
of their intellectual powers at ninety. John 
Wesley was at the height of his eloquence and at 
his best at eighty-eight. Michael Angelo painted 
his greatest single j^icture that was ever painted 
since the world began at eighty. He made the 
sky and sunshine glorious with his brush at 
eighty-three. General Von Moltke was still 
wearing the uniform at eighty-eight, and he com- 
manded the victorious German army that entered 
the gates of Paris at seventy. George Bancroft 
was writing deathless history after eighty. 
Thomas Jefferson, Herbert Spencer, Talleyrand, 
and Voltaire were giving out great ideas at 
eighty. Tennyson wrote his greatest poem, 
* Crossing the Bar,' at eighty-three. Gladstone 
made his greatest campaign at eighty, and was 
the master of Great Britain at eighty-three. 
Hmnboldt, the naturalist, scientist — the greatest 
that Germany ever produced — issued his im- 
mortal Kosmos at ninety. 

''I saw Joe Jefferson play Rip Van Winkle at 
his best at seventy-five. Goethe wrote Faust, the 
greatest literary achievement in all literature — 
the masterpiece of literature — the last section — 
at eighty. The Irish actor Macklin was still on 
the stage at ninety-nine. Robert Browning was 
as subtle and mysterious as ever at seventy-seven, 
and Victor Hugo was his best from seventy-five 
to eighty." 

I, too, saw Joe Jefferson in both ''Rip Van 
Winkle" and "The Rivals" at the time referred to 



Octogenarian 329 



by General Sherwood. Admiral Dewey, the hero of 
Manila, has just departed, aged eightj^ 

I hope, my dear Judge, that you will live as long as 
the oldest of the men referred to, not in decrepitude, 
but in possession of all your great faculties, and that 
God may ever have you in his safe and holy keeping. 

Cordially yours, 

WALTER I. SMITH. 



Law Offices of Oliver & Oliver 

Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 
February 9, 1918. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge : 

On the 6th inst., we wrote Judge Withrow as Chair- 
man of the Committee having in charge the matter 
of tendering congratulations to you on February 12th, 
of the writer's engagement in Kennett, Dunklin 
County, Missouri, on that day, and of his intention to 
do his utmost to be relieved from that engagement 
that he might be present in person and assist to that 
extent in doing honor to you as a citizen and Judge. 

The writer has not been able to secure a release of 
his engagement, and while it is now the purpose of 
some member of our firm to be present, the writer is 
unwilling to allow so important and delightful an 
event to pass by without saying a personal word in 
his own behalf. 

I think I have told you before that my first knowl- 
edge of you was obtained through the St. Louis press, 
while I was a student in the Law School at the Uni- 
versity of Missouri at the time you were appointed 



330 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

by President Grant to assist as special counsel in the 
prosecution of the "Whiskey Ring." The St. Louis 
press gave what purported to be a stenographic report 
of the proceedings of those trials. I carefully read, 
then clipped and preserved those reports, and re- 
garded them as an asset to my meager and limited 
library. 

I committed to memory excerpts of your address to 
the jury, and for a long while was able to quote them 
with reasonable accuracy. Your courageous and 
fearless conduct in those prosecutions attracted you 
to me, and I can with candor say to you now that, 
after the lapse of many years, my regard for you 
personally and for your public duties has grown with 
the years. 

I wish you a continuation of your excellent health, 
and that the bar of Missouri may have many occasions 
to join with you in future celebrations of your birth- 
day. 

Very respectfully, 

R. B. OLIVER. 



Louisiana, Missouri, 
February 10, 1918. 
Judge D. P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Colonel: 

As one of your friends and admirers of more than 
forty-eight years' acqviaintance, and as a member of 
the race who came to their freedom and all the civil 
and political rights we now enjoy, for which you so 
nobly, fearlessly and generously did your part, I want 
to tender the congratulations of myself and the 



Octogenarian 331 



colored people of old Pike County, upon the attain- 
ment of your eightieth birthday anniversary. 

Your great heart and soul, like the great heart and 
soul of the immortal and Christlike Abraham Lin- 
coln, read and interpreted the Declaration of In- 
dependence to mean literally just what it said — 
*'That all men were created free and equal and en- 
dowed with certain inalienable rights, among which 
are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 

You have never abandoned for political expediency, 
policy or self-interest, those immortal truths and 
principles affecting human rights as taught and ex- 
pounded by Mr. Lincoln and especially as those 
principles are embodied in the Thirteenth, Four- 
teenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Federal 
Constitution. You have always, boldly and fear- 
lessly championed our legal rights, for which we ask 
God's blessing upon you. When the end comes we 
believe your great spirit will be associated in Paradise 
with the spirits of Lincoln, Phillips, Fred Douglass, 
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Smnner, Thad. Stevens, and 
dear, noble Dr. Reynolds, who, like yourself, was 
always true to my race. 

You are loved by many, because you are worthy 
and deserve to be loved. 

With best wishes, I am. 

Truly yours, 

C. P. COVINGTON". 



332 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

United States District Court, 
AVestern District of Missouri. 

Kansas City, February 11, 1918. 
James E. AVitlirow, Esq., 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
My dear Mr. Withrow : 

I have your letter on behalf of a committee of your 
bar requesting me, as one of the Federal Judges of 
this Circuit, to be present at Judge Dyer's Court at 
ten o'clock a. m., February 12, and unite with others 
in tendering him congratulations upon his eightieth 
birthday. 

I find that I shall be detained in the city because 
of an unfinished matter in which attorneys are pre- 
sent from out of the city ; one from Washington and 
another on leave from Camp Funston. It will, there- 
fore, be impossible for me to be present, but I wish to 
join with other friends of the bench and bar in 
felicitating him upon this auspicious occasion, and 
in testifying to the sincere affection in which he is 
held by all who know him. 
Very sincerely, 

AREA S. VAN VALKENBURGH, 
District Judge. 



(Telegram) 

New York, N. Y., 
Feb. 13, 1918. 
Judge David P. Dyer, 
Federal Building, 

St. Louis, Mo. 
In Daily Record of Monday, reaching me today, I 
see the notice to St. Louis lawyers to assemble in the 



Octogenarian 333 



court room yesterday to tender congratulations on 
your eightieth birthday. I regret my inability to be 
present and now take pleasure in offering heartiest 
congratulations and hopes for your continued good 
health and strength. 

P. W. HABERMAN. 



Law Offices of 
Leonard & Sibley 

St. Louis, February 13, 1918. 
My dear Judge Dyer: 

I was greatly chagrined that important matters 
prevented me from getting up to the Court yesterday 
morning. I had arranged to go up with Dahlgren, 
but at the last moment it proved impossible for me 
to go. 

I want to extend my sincere good wishes on this 
occasion, and to wish you many returns of the day. 
It is a wonderful tribute to the respect and affection 
in which you are held by members of the bar that 
such a large and enthusiastic attendance should have 
been present yesterday. I sincerely hope that you 
will continue to adorn the Federal bench for many 
years to come. 



With best wishes, 



Judge D. P. Dyer, 
U. S. District Court, 
St. Louis, Mo. 



Sincerely yours, 

L. L. LEONARD 



334 Autohiocjrapliy and Reminiscences 

Hostetter & Haley 

Attorneys at Law 

Bowling Green, Missouri 

Feb. 14, 1918 
Judge David P. Dyer, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge: 

I regret that absence from home wlien the notifica- 
tion of the congratulatory exercises to be held on the 
eightieth anniversary of your birthday arrived, pre- 
vented me from attending. 

I want to assure you that Pike County is truly loyal 
to her "grand old man," and no one of her sons has 
a warmer place in the hearts and consciences of her 
people than have you. 

May your career, which has alwa5^s been marked 
by kind, generous acts, by intense loyalty to our 
County, our State and our Nation, stretch out until 
you are a hundred. 

With highest personal regards, I am. 

Yours truly, 

J. D. HOSTETTER 



Muench, Walther & Muench 
Attorneys and Counselors at Law 

St. Louis, February 13th, 1918. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

Judge U. S. District Court, 
St. Louis. 
My dear Judge Dyer: 

Unluckily I had to miss the official celebration on 
yesterday upon the attaimnent of your eightieth year ; 



Octogenarian 335 



hence I beg to offer these belated congratulations — 
none the less sincerely. 

The event has called to mind many old and dear 
memories of my own earlier years. Your, service as 
a member of the Missouri Legislature, in 1864-5, when 
my revered father sat in the Senate and it was my 
privilege to serve as a page there; the "Camp 
Krekel" celebration at Cotleville, where you delivered 
the chief address; your leadership of the Missouri 
regiment, of which my brother (still living) was a 
member ; and, still later, the prosecution of the noted 
''Whiskey Ring" cases, and your nomination as our 
candidate for Governor by a convention of which I 
had the honor to be a member. 

These and other events in your long and honorable 
career call for an enduring recollection in my mind, 
and inspire the wish that many more years of splendid 
health and coveted usefulness may be your lot. 

Faithfully yours, 

HUGO MUENCH 



Hawk Point, Missouri, 
February 13, 1918 
Judge David P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge : 

I want to extend to you my congratulations and 
best wishes in honor of your eightieth birthday. 

I read with pleasure the many good things said of 
3^ou by your friends present yesterday. 

May you have many returns of this happy day, is 
the wish of. 

Your friend, 

C. A. HARPER 



336 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

St. Louis Chamber of Commerce 

February 16, 1918 
Hon. D. P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge Dyer: 

I was present on the morning of the 12th, the date 
of your eightieth birthday, but did not have an 
opportunity to greet you in person. I am now 
writing to extend you my heartiest felicitations on 
the great good you have accomplished, and to express 
the hope that the years before you may be many. 
With affectionate regards, I am, 

JOSEPH W. FOLK 



Oscar A. Knehans 

Referee in Bankruptcy 

U. S. Court 

Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
February 11, 1918 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 
United States District Judge, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge Dyer: 

Please accept my hearty congratulations on your 
eightieth anniversary. You have been so kind and 
considerate of the weakness of human beings, and 
have demonstrated that a Federal Judge can be 
merciful as well as just. You no doubt will receive 
messages from many friends. However, this little 
note is not written as a mere form, but is prompted 
by my genuine appreciation of your fair dealing and 
kindness to so many who were in trouble and who 
needed a friend, and by the many kind words of en- 



Octogenarian 337 



couragement and deeds of kindness you have shown 
me. 

I trust that your remaining years will be pleasant 
and happy, and that you will be with us for many 
years to come. That you will never be in need of the 
comforts of life, is the true wish of 

Your friend, 

O. A. KNEHANS 



The Republican 
Naeter Bros. 

Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
February 11, 1918 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 
Federal Judge, 
St. Louis, Mo. 
Dear Sir: 

The Daily Republican today takes pride in publish- 
ing a biography of yourself, calling attention to the 
splendid life you have lived and to some of the many 
helpful things you have done for your people and 
your coimtry. 

In connection with this publicitj^ I want to per- 
sonally send you a word of greeting, and to wish you 
many more years of usefulness and happiness. 

It has been one of my greatest privileges to know 
you personally and to have your respect. 

Very respectfully, 

FRED NAETER 



338 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 

Law Offices 
Russell L. Dearmont 

Cape Girardeau, Mo., 
February 11, 1918. 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge: 

Through the press I note that the Bar of St. Louis 
and of the State will tender congratulations to you 
and join with you in the celebration of your birthday, 
February 12th. 

I regret exceedingly that an illness of some two 
months, from which I have just recovered, prevents 
me from being present on this occasion. 

I want, however, to extend to you my hearty con- 
gratulations and wish you man}^ more returns of the 
day. 

Yours very sincerely, 

RUSSELL L. DEARMONT 



Law Office 
Guthrie & Franklin 

Macon, Missouri, 
February 13, 1918 
Hon. David P. Dyer, 

St. Louis. 
My dear Judge : 

And so the four score years have overtaken you? 

Allow me to congratulate you that they found you in 

such good condition, and that they leave you in the 

same happy condition. 

May those conditions continue and may the birth- 



Octogenarian 339 



days come round with mirth and song and ]oj and 
hope! 

Remember, Judge, there are more of us following 
close upon your heels and we are keeping an eye on 
you and we expect you to lead us, as you always have, 
with gallantry and truth and righteousness. 

Your friend, 

BEN ELI GUTHRIE 



Frank Kelly 

Judge 28th Judicial Circuit 

Cape Girardeau, Mo. 

February 11th, 1918 
Hon. D. P. Dyer, 

St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dear Judge : 

I desire to extend to you my hearty congratulations 
upon your reaching the ripe age of four score years, 
and are now enjoying a strong and vigorous manhood 
at that age. 

I also know that you can look back over that num- 
ber of years and feel that they have been years well 
spent in behalf of your State, your country and your 
fellow-men. Surely that is largely the sum and sub- 
stance of a useful life. 

Allow me to express the hope that you will "hang 
around here'' for some time yet, as I heard you ex- 
press it one day in Court, and that your future life 
will be just as full of activites and usefulness as your 
past has been. 

I frequently meet men down here who remember 
you as District Attorney, and all those who speak of 



340 AutoMography and Eeminiscences 

you say nothing but kind words of "Pat Dyer," as 
they generally refer to you. 

Wishing you many of the joys and pleasures of life 
in the future, I am, 

Sincerely yours, 

FRANK KELLY 



The Speaker's Rooms 

House of Representatives 

Washington, D. C. 

February 25, 1918 
Honorable David P. Dyer, 
Federal Building, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
My dear Judge : 

I see you have been celebrating your eightieth birth- 
day, or rather, your friends have been celebrating it 
for you. 

I congratulate you on having reached the age of 
four score in such fine fettle. I hope you will live 
many years more to render service to your country 
and your kind. Dr. Osier was an ass. 

Your friend, 
CHAMP CLARK 



Lamm, Bohling & Lamm 
Attorneys & Counsellors 

Sedalia, Missouri, 
Feby. 23, 1918 
My dear Judge : 

I stumbled on the fact the other day that you were 
eighty, and that the event was celebrated duly. 



Octogenarian 341 



Would liave liked to have been one of the "boys" to 
celebrate had I known of it. 

Though you have not the strength that " once moved 
earth and heaven" yet much abides with you. May 
you live to be a hundred! 

Your friend, 

HENRY LAMM 



Headquarters of Colored Waiters' Alliance 

124 South Channing Avenue 

St. Louis, Missouri 

Be it Resolved, That we, the Colored Waiters* 
Alliance, in session assembled, do hereby unanimously 
extend our congratulations to the Honorable Judge 
D. P. Dyer, on this his eightieth anniversary. 

We commend his work on the Federal bench; a 
work that has always been conscientious, fair and just 
to all who have been the recipients of his considera- 
tion. 

Be it also resolved. That we, as members of the 
Colored Waiters' Alliance, do also hereby submit 
these resolutions as a thank-offering of our race for 
the manly and American-like way in which the 
Honorable Judge Dyer rendered his memorable 
decision in the famous Segregation Case. 

Done by the unanimous vote of the Colored 
Waiters' Alliance, and recorded in our minutes by 
order of its president. 

BEN F. BARROW, President 
RUFUS O. BRAWLEY, 

(Seal) Secretarj^ and Treasurer. 



342 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

Othello Lodge, No. 1 
Benevolent Order of Peerless Knights 



Whereas, The daily press of St. Louis has 
announced the eightieth anniversary of one of St. 
Louis's most noted and honored citizens, whose life 
in the city, State and Nation stands and has stood for 
human justice, impartiality and civic rights; and. 

Whereas, His life's work has reflected such nobility 
of character, independence of spirit, and love of 
justice that it serves as an inspiration to our youth, 
has given hope and comfort to our older people, and 
cheered the hearts of millions of a down-trodden race ; 
therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the Benevolent Order of Peerless 
Knights, in session assembled, do hereby unanimously 
vote that this method be employed to extend our un- 
reserved congratulations to the Honorable Judge 
David P. Dyer, on this, his eightieth anniversary. 

And be it further resolved, That, as it has been 
pleasing to Almighty God to spare this noble man to 
such a ripe old age, it is the prayer of the negro 
people, and especially its older ones, that his days 
may be long on earth and amongst men. 

Be it further resolved. That these resolutions be 
spread upon the record of the Benevolent Order of 
Peerless Knights, and a copy thereof sent to the 
Honorable Judge David P. Dyer, and his family. 
COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS 
B. F. BARROW, Chairman 
GEO. L. LAPSLEY 
W. H. KING, Exalted Prelate 
GEO. W. O'NEIL, Financial Sec 'v. 



Octogenarian 343 



After several severe attacks of acute indigestion, 
I became aware of the serious condition of my health. 
Remembering my promise to President Roosevelt at 
the time of my appointment, that I would retire from 
the bench the moment my health became such that 
I could not do the work of my position efficiently and 
well, and desirous of keeping faithfully that promise, 
I determined to voluntarily retire. On the 10th of 
May, 1918, 1 wrote the President of the United States, 
Woodrow Wilson, of my purpose to quit the active 
duties of the office of judge, in accordance with a re- 
cent act of Congress. 

That is a wise act, in my judgment. Instead of 
resigning after ten years of service, and after attain- 
ing the age of seventy years, the judge is permitted 
to retire instead of resign. It is a humane act — it 
authorizes him, if he desires, to work if the Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court or the presiding judge 
of any circuit shall request or designate him to do so. 
Since my retirement I have been almost constantly 
engaged in holding court. I recovered my health and 
have held court not only in the two districts of 
Missouri, but in the districts of Arizona and Okla- 
homa. For this work I get no extra compensation, 
but it gives me work instead of idleness, and avoids 
to some extent the ^'rustingouf process. Instead of 
sitting still and watching for the coming of the mes- 
senger that calls from ''labor to refreshment," it per- 
mits one to give attention to useful things and 
eventually to bravely die in the harness. 

After my letter went to the President, I received 
many notes of approval and congratulation from 
those whose opinions I highly prize. Among them 



344 Autobiography and Reminiscences 

was one from Justice J. C. McReynolds of the 
Supreme Court of the United States. He, among 
other things, said, "What a wise man you are to lay 
down the burdensome duties of your office, and spend 
the remaining years in peace. I felicitate you and 
wish you all the good things a splendid man and 
friend can have. I do hope you have some near and 
congenial friends who will help to make the dsijs 
happy." 

A letter from Judge Charles H. Robb of the United 
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 
was received. In this he said: ''Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant. You deserve and will 
receive the approbation of every hiunan being whose 
opinion is worth considering, for your splendid ser- 
vices to your fellowmen. It has not been my lot to 
meet a more rugged, sincere and gentle character. 

"That your remaining days may be filled with sun- 
shine, contentment, and happiness, is the sincere wish 
of your friend." 

I first became acquainted with Justice McReynolds 
and Judge Robb while they were assistant Attorneys 
General at Washington and while I was United States 
District Attorney at St. Louis. 

Among many other letters of which I am very 
proud, are those from F. L. Schofield, of Hannibal, 
Missouri ; Gardner Lathrop, and Judge O. M. Spen- 
cer, of Chicago ; and Judge Norman A. Mozely, of the 
Missouri Supreme Court Commission. 

Editorials that appeared, shortly after my retire- 
ment, in the Globe-Democrat, Saint Louis Republic, 
Saint Louis Times, Columbia Tribune, Howard 
County Banner, and other newspapers, were very 



Octogenarian 345 



complimentary, and they have been nicely preserved 
in a scrap-book by members of my family. 

I am greatly pleased to say that I am proud of the 
good opinions of those with whom I have come in con- 
tact, and if by publishing in these reminiscences (im- 
perfect as I know them to be) anything that may be 
of value to others, I am fully compensated. 

*'To help the growth of a thought that struggles 
toward the light. 
To brush with gentle hand the earth stain 
from the white of one snowdrop — such 
is my ambition." 

I hope that it can be truthfully said of me: *^He 
was a friend of man and lived in a house by the side 
of the road." 

**Let me live in a house by the side of the road, 
Where the race of men go by — 
The men who are good and the men who are bad, 
As good and as bad as I. 
Let me live in a house by the side of the road, 
And be a friend to man." 



JUDGE AND MRS. HUNT 

Judge Ezra Hunt (my wife's father) was bom in 
Milf ord, Massachusetts, April 7, 1790. He died very 
suddenly at Troy, Missouri, in September, 1860. 

Mrs. Maria Pettibone Hunt (my wife's mother) 
was born in Oneida County, New York, September 
22nd, 1813, and died in St. Louis December 1st, 1900. 
The following notice of her death is taken from the 
St. Louis Eepublican of December 2nd, 1900. This 
account is, I believe, fairly correct : 

MRS. MARIE E. HUNT DEAD 

Had been in Feeble Health for the Past Year 
After a severe illness of ten days, Mrs. 
Marie E. Hunt, widow of the late Judge 
Ezra Hunt, at one time one of the most 
prominent lawyers of the State, died yester- 
day morning at 2 o'clock, at the residence of 
her son-in-law. Colonel D. P. Dyer, 3807 
Delmar Boulevard. Catarrh of the stomach 
was the direct cause of her death, although 
the deceased had been in feeble health for 
the past year. Mrs. Hunt was in her 88th 
year, but in spite of her great age was in full 
possession of all her faculties to the end. 

Mrs. Hunt was born September 22, 1813, 
at Vernon, Oneida County, New York. Her 
father was Judge Rufus Pettibone, and her 
mother Louise Cecelia de Bussy. The Petti- 
bone family came to Missouri when Mrs. 
Himt was but four years of age, and settled 



Appendix 347 

in St. Louis. Judge Pettibone formed a 
partnership with Colonel Ruf us Easton, and 
the two enjoyed a lucrative law practice. 
Judge Pettibone was apposed to slavery, and 
during the campaigns when the question of 
whether Missouri should become a State was 
a paramount issue, one of the tickets with 
anti-slavery as its chief plank, contained the 
names of John B. C. Lucas, Rufus Easton, 
Rufus Pettibone, Robert Simpson and Ca- 
leb Bowles. Judge Pettibone was also well 
known in Missouri politics. He held the 
office of Judge of the Second Judicial Cir- 
cuit of Missouri, for many years, removing 
soon after his appointment to St. Charles. 
He served in this capacity until 1821, when 
he was appointed Judge of the Supreme 
Court. This office he held until his death 
July 31, 1825. 

On her mother's side, Mrs. Hunt was 
equally well connected. Mrs. Pettibone, be- 
fore her marriage to the Judge, was a Miss 
de Bussy, daughter of Claudius Le Droit de 
Bussy, who emigrated from France to the 
Island of San Domingo prior to 1791, and 
during the year of the insurrection took 
refuge on a steamer, which subsequently 
landed in New York, in which State the 
family settled. 

After the death of her father, Mrs. Hunt 
was taken in charge by her uncle, Levi Petti- 
bone, of Pike County, Missouri, and sent to 
Connecticut to be educated. Wliile there she 
became acquainted with Judge Ezra Hunt, 
and the two were married on May 18, 1830, 
at Norfolk, Connecticut, by the Rev. Pittkin 
Cowles. 

Judge Hunt was also well known in public 
affairs. He was born April 7, 1790, at Mil- 



348 Autobiography and Eeminiscences 

ford, Massacliusetts. After receiving his 
education, he was a teacher in the Leicester 
Academy, and afterward in an institution at 
Pulaski, Tennessee. In 1819 or 1820, Judge 
Hunt came to St. Louis and formed a law 
partnership with Judge A¥illiam C. Carr. 
After a short residence here he moved to 
Louisiana, the county seat of Pike, and he 
also lived for a time at St. Charles. After 
his marriage to Miss Pettibone, Judge and 
Mrs. Hunt took up their residence in Mis- 
souri, for a nmnber of years making their 
home at Bowling Green, in Pike County. In 
1836, Mr. Hunt was appointed Judge for 
that circuit and he served for many years, 
finallj^ returning to private practice. He 
died at Troy, Lincoln County, Missouri, in 
1860, at the age of seventy years. 

Four children were born to Judge and 
Mrs. Hunt, and three survive her. The eld- 
est daughter, Louise Hunt, was married to 
Judge William Waller Edwards, of St. 
Charles, in 1856. Her death occurred in 
1872. The surviving children are Mrs. 
Lizzie Dyer, Avife of Colonel D. P. Dyer; 
Captain L. P. Hunt, of the United States 
Army stationed at Chicago, and Miss Claud- 
ine H. Hunt of St. Louis. Since 1860, the 
deceased had made her home with the family 
of Colonel Dyer. 

Ten grandchildren were left b}^ Mrs. 
Hunt, as follows : Claude Edwards, a young 
business man of this city, and Miss Margaret 
Edwards of St. Charles ; Ezra Hunt Dyer of 
St. Louis; Mrs. Daisy Dyer Hunting of 
Grand Rapids, Michigan; David P. Dyer, 
Jr., a teller in the United States Sub-Treas- 
wry; Elizabeth Dyer, Horace L. Dyer, the 
assistant City Attorney ; Louise M. Dyer and 



Appendix 349 

Claude and Eleanor Hunt, children of Cap- 
tain Hunt of Chicago. In addition, there 
are four great-grandchildren — Orion Eliza- 
beth Dyer, daughter of Ezra H. Dyer, and 
Julia Gregg Dyer ; David and Robert Hunt- 
ing, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar W. Hunt- 
ing, and Louise Ensign Dyer, daughter of D. 
P. Dyer, Jr., and Maud Ensign Dyer. 

Funeral services over the deceased will be 
held this afternoon at 4 o'clock from the Dy- 
er family residence, 3807 Delmar Boulevard, 
Rev. Dr. John W. Day, of the Church of the 
Messiah, will officiate. The interment will 
take place Monday morning at 10 :30 o 'clock 
in St. Charles, Missouri. The pallbearers 
at the funeral will be the four grandsons of 
the deceased, N. C. Hardin, a nephew of 
Pike County, Missouri, and Charles Broad- 
head, son of the late Colonel James O. 
Broadhead of this city. 

For forty years she was a member of my family, 
and during all of those years not a death occurred 
therein. She was present when each of my six chil- 
dren were born, and it falls to the lot of few to have 
a more intelligent, loving and gracious mother. Her 
going was the first break in the family circle. She 
was followed on the 19th of December, 1913, by her 
son, Colonel Levi P. Hunt, and then by my wife, on 
the first day of January, 1916. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Adams, Judge Elmer B., 152, 225, 

226, 230, 285, 273, 274, 283, 298 
Adams, Sen. W. B., 122, 123 
Allen, Hon. John, 217, 218, 220 
Allison, Hon, WiUiam B., 131 
Amidon, Judge Charles F., 274, 277 
Anderson, Hon. George W., 48, 105, 

106, 119, 130 
Anderson, Thomas L., 65, 73, 324 
Anderson, Pres., of St. Charles Col- 
lege, 52 
Avery, O. H., 158, 160, 161, 163-165 

Babcook, Gen. Orville E., 160, 161, 

164-166, 167, 169 
Baker, Sen. E. D., 194, 200 
Bartlett, Dr. E. M., 65, 66 
Bashaw, Thomas P., 179 
Beck, Hon. James M., 280, 281 
Beekwith, Corwin, 197, 198 
Belknap, Gen. W. W., 151, 152 
Benjamin, John F., 130, 132 
Biggs, Judge William H., 98, 99 
Bingham, Hon. John A., 131 
Bittinger, Hon. John L., 106, 119 
Blain, William, 56, 57, 59, 68 
Blaine, Hon. James G., 131, 177, 178 
Blair, Frank P., Jr., 89-91, 130, 138, 

139 
Bland, Judge C. C, 250 
Bliss, William H., 169 
Block, Henry V, P., 66, 103 
Blodgett, Col. Wells H., 135, 298 
Bolton, Dr. William, 57, 80 
Bonaparte, Hon. Charles J., 237, 239, 

241 
Breckenridge Judge Samuel M., 87, 

90, 96, 106 



Brewer, Justice David J., 200, 217 
Bristow, Hon. Benjamin H., 155, 

161, 162, 167, 169, 170 
Broadhead, Hon. James Overton, 28, 

55, 57, 58, 62-66, 72, 73, 87, 90, 

96, 106, 119, 152, 164, 165, 168, 

177-179, 182, 191, 192, 200, 201, 

298, 349 
Broderick, Sen. David C, 194, 200 
Brown, Gov. B. Gratz, 105, 106, 119, 

136, 138-140 
Brown, Gen. E. B., 113 
Bruere, Hon. Theodore, 135, 139 
Biyan, Hon. William Jennings, 146 
Buchanan, Pres. James, 61, 88, 89, 

200 
Buckner, Hon. Aylett H., 64, 71-73, 

87, 88, 93 
Buffum, Mary Frances, 283, 284 
Bufort, E. Spruel, 52 
Burdette, Samuel S., 130, 132 
Burnett, Hon. Henry C, 172 
Burns, Hon. James M., 201 
Burton, Sen. of Kansas, 227-230 
Butler, Gen. Benjamin F., 131 

Caldwell, Judge Henry C, 278, 281, 

282, 284 
Campbell, Judge John I., 121 
Campbell, Hon. Eobert A., 57, 65, 73 
Canby, Gen. E. E. S., 114 
Cannon, Hon. Joseph G., 132, 327 
Carter, Col. Thomas C, 115 
Carter, Sen. Thomas H., 218, 220 
Cavender, Col. John S., 122 
Clark, Hon. Champ, 80, 283, 340 
Clark, Sen. John B., 122 



354 Autobiography and Reminiscences 



Cleveland, Pre8. Grover, 175, 177- 
179, 182-187, 206, 208, 243 

CUfford, Benjamin P., 46, 104-106 

Clover, Henry A., 165 

Cockrell, Gen. Francis M., 115, 179, 
223 

Colfax, Hon, Schuyler, 130, 131 

Crittenden, Gov. Thomas T., 140, 175 

Curtin, Gov. A. G., 201, 202 

Dale, Hon. Frank, 204-206, 209, 213, 

215 
Dawes, Hon. Henry L., 131 
Day, W, A., 280 
Dillon, Hon. John F., 142, 165, 231, 

302 
Doekery, Gov. Alexander M., 140 
Doniphan, Gen. A. W., 87 
Douglas, Hon. Stephen A., 76, 77, 

200 
Drake, Hon. Charles D., 138 
Draper, Hon. Edwin, 138 
Dryden, Judge John D. S., 65, 73 
Dyer, Horace L., 22, 23, 232, 288, 

348 
Dysart, Major E. B., 144, 146, 147 

Edwaeds, Judge W. W., 83, 348 

Fagc?, CoL Thomas J. C, 94, 121, 

122, 298 
Ferry, Hon. Thomas W., 131 
Field, Justice, 199, 200 
Filley, Hon. Chauncey I., 136 
Finkelnburg, Judge G. A., 152, 225, 

232, 235, 236, 241, 245, 247, 249, 

250-252, 254, 298 
Fletcher, Ella, 118, 119 
Fletcher, Gov. Thomas C, 113, 114, 

118, 119, 121 
Folk, Gov. Joseph W., 140, 231, 251, 

336 
Forgey, Thomas J., 120 
Francis, Gov. David E., 140 
Fremont, Gen. John C, 92 



Gallenkamp, Judge, 222 

Gamble, Gov. Hamilton E., 87, 91, 

93, 94, 95, 104 
Gantt, Judge Thomas T., 96, 298 
Garfield, Pres. James A., 131 
Gardner, Gov. Frederick D., 140 
Garland, Hon. A. H., 178, 179 
Gates, Col. Elijah, 115 
Gatewood, William L., 73 
Gibbon, Gen. John, 148 
Givens, Matthew, 46 
Glover, Samuel T., 90, 106, 152, 163, 

164, 298 
Goode, Judge E. L., 250 
Grace, Judge John, 172 
Granger, Gen. Gordon, 114 
Grant, Judge James, 198, 199 
Grant, Pres. U. S., 114, 115, 130, 131, 

138, 139, 147, 151, 160, 161, 163, 

164, 168, 169, 170, 173, 301, 330 
Gravelly, Col. Joseph J., 87, 113 
Graves, Judge W. W., 247 
Greeley, Hon. Horace, 139 
Gresham, Hon. "Walter Q., 185-187 
Griggs, Hon. John W., 280, 281 

Hadlet, Gov. Herbert S., 139, 140, 

250, 251 
Hall, Gov. Willard P., 87, 96, 106, 

107 
Hall, Judge "William A., 87, 96 
HaUett, Judge Moses, 196, 197, 199 
Hardin, Gov. Charles H., 140 
Hardin, Dr. "W. C, 80, 141 
Harlan, Justice John Marshall, 230, 

284 
Harrison, Pres. Benjamin H., 185, 

196, 208 
Harrison, Judge "William P., 122 
Hatch, Hon. "WUliam H., 165 
Havens, Hon. H, E., 136 
Hayden, Henry C, 85, 152 
Headlee, Samuel "W., 122 
Henderson, Hon. John Brooks, 45- 

48, 65, 66, 73, 78, 87, 88, 93, 94, 



Index 



355 



96, 104-106, 117, 118, 137, 151, 

152, 163-165, 298, 312 
Hill, Britton A., 152 
Hitchcock, Hon, Ethan Allen, 204, 

205, 222, 241 
Hitchcock, Hon. Henry, 152 
Hoar, Hon. George F., 223, 224 
Hoblitzell, Clarence, 177, 180 
Holmes, John E., 177 
Holmes, Col. Sam., 116, 117 
Hook, Judge William C, 295, 296 
HoBtetter, J. D., 334 
How, Hon. John, 90 
Hoy, Thomas P., 73 
Hubbard, Judge, 145, 146 
Hughes, Hon. Charles H., 256, 257 
Hunt, Judge Ezra, 46, 57, 58, 61, 62, 

65, 73, 80, 346-348 
Hunt, Col. Levi P., 84, 132, 218, 

220, 288, 291, 348, 349 
Hyde, Gov. Arthur M., 140 

Jackson, Gov. Claiborne F., 88, 89, 

91 
Jamison, John, 67 
Jewett, Hon. Daniel T., 136, 138, 152 
Johnson, Pres. Andrew, 163, 164 
Johnson, Gov. Charles P., 108, 298- 

300 
Johnson, Hon. Waldo P., 94, 104 
Jones, Gen. Jeff., 85, 312 
Joyce, John A., 156-158, 161, 164- 

166 
Judson, Frederick N., 295, 304, 305 

Kellt, Judge Frank, 339, 340 

King, Judge Andrew, 138 

Knehans, Oscar A., 336, 337 

Knox, Hon. P. C, 239, 240, 279, 281 

EJaox, Samuel, 152 

Kreckel, Hon. Arnold, 48, 139, 161 

Krum, Judge Chester H., 152, 165, 

167, 232, 298, 306, 307 
Krum, Judge John M., 152 
Lamb, Alfred W., 73 



Lamm, Judge Henry, 144-146, 245, 

246, 341 
Lathrop, Fannie, 118, 119 
Lathrop, Gardner, 119, 344 
Lathrop, Pres. J. H., 118, 126, 128 
Lathrop, Tessie, 118, 119 
Lazear, Col. B. F., 113 
Lee, Gen. Robert E., 114, 115, 173 
Lehmann, Hon. F. W., 231 
Lewis, Judge Robert E., 144, 146, 

252 
Lincoln, Pres. Abraham, 45, 71, 72, 

76, 77, 86, 88-91, 100, 111, 113, 

115, 117, 121, 149, 150, 182, 197, 

256, 301, 323, 331 
Loeb, William, Jr., 238, 242 
Logan, Hon. John A,, 131 
Love, Judge, 152 

Luce, Captain Stephen Bleecker, 148 
Lyon, Gen. Nathaniel, 90-92 

Maguire, Constantine, 160, 161 
Marmaduke, Gov. John S., 140 
Marvin, Eev. M., 107 
McClellan, Gen. G. B., Ill, 121 
McClurg, Gov. Joseph W., 129, 131, 

136, 138 
McDonald, John, 158, 161, 164-168 
McKee, A. V., 53, 65 
McKee, William, 160, 161, 165 
McKinley, Pres. William, 139, 221, 

222 
McNeil, Gen. John, 113 
McNulta, Col. John, 94, 95 
McPherson, Judge Smith, 217, 220 
McReynolds, Justice J. C, 344 
Medill, George A., 152, 298 
Megrue, C. G., 154, 156-158, 162 
Miller, Justice Samuel F., 196-201, 

307, 308 
MiUer, W. H., 232 
Minor, Judge N. P., 65, 72, 73, 78, 

79 
Morehouse, Gov. Albert P., 140 
Morsey, William L., 232, 236, 283 



356 Autohiograpliy and Reminiscences 



Mozely, Judge Norman A., 344 
Muench, Frederick, 122 
Muench, Judge Hugo, 335 
Murray, Maj. Gen. Arthur, 133 
Murray, Judge Samuel F., 57, 73, 
133 

Noble, Gen. John W., 152, 196-199, 

201, 208, 298 
Norton, Hon. E. H., 107 
Nortoni, Judge Albert D., 250, 295 

Okr, Isaac H., 324 

Orrick, John C, 52, 119, 152 

Parker, Hon. Alton B., 146 
Peek, George Eecord, 217-220 
Phelps, Gov. John S., 105, 106, 140 
Philips, Col, John Finis, 87, 96, 113, 

119, 217, 218, 220, 243, 244, 245, 

298, 310 
Piatt, Sen. Thomas C, 221 
Poepping, Bernard, 106 
Poland, Hon. Luke, 131 
Polk, Hon. Trusten, 94, 104 
Pollock, Judge John C, 232, 235, 

252, 254 
Porter, Judge Gilchrist, 65, 121, 122, 

167, 168 
Price, Gov. Sterling, 87, 91, 110, 113 
Price, Thomas L., 129 
Priest, Judge Henry S., 295-297, 303 

Randall, Hon. Samuel, 131 

Eansom, Gen. T. R., 189 

Rassieur, Judge Leo, 298 

Redd, John T., 87 

Reed, Pres. Daniel, 126, 128 

Reynolds, Judge George D., 119 

Reynolds, Matthew Givens, 133, 147, 

148, 295 
Reynolds, Dr. Stephen J., 57, 68, 69, 

84, 114, 133, 147, 331 
Reynolds, Gov. Thomas C, 163, 164 



Reynolds, Rear-Admiral William, 

147, 148 
Richards, Com. W. A., 204-206, 209, 

213, 215 
Riner, Judge John A., 235 
Robb, Judge Charles H., 230, 239, 

240, 252, 253, 344 
Rollins, Hon. James S., 47, 48, 111, 

126, 128, 143 
Rombauer, Judge R. E., 298 
Roosevelt, Pres. Theodore, 139, 218, 

221, 222, 235, 236, 241, 243, 244, 

247, 248, 251, 255-262, 264-268, 

270, 271, 274, 277, 282, 302, 313, 

343 

Sanborn, Gen. John B., 113 
Sanborn, Judge Walter H., 278, 281, 

284, 295, 296, 315 
Schenck, Hon. Robert C, 131 
Schofield, F. L., 344 
Schurz, Hon. Carl, 136 
Scruggs, Richard M., 156 
Sharp, Fidelio C, 152 
Shelby, Gen. Joe, 186, 187 
Shepley, John R., 152, 298 
Sherman, Gen. W. T., 184, 189, 190, 

191, 193, 201, 202, 220 
Shields, Judge George H., 298 
Slocum, Gen. Henry W., 116 
Smith, Gen. A. J., 114, 115 
Smith, Capt. George, 105, 106, 118 
Smith, Judge Walter I., 329 
Spencer, Judge O. M., 217, 218, 220, 

344 
Spencer, Sen. Selden P., 295 
Stephens, Hon. Alexander H., 131 
Stephens, Gov. Lon V. ,140 
Stevens, Hon. Thaddeus, 131, 331 
Stevenson, Col. John D., 92, 93 
Stewart, Robert M., 87, 96 
Stone, Gov. W. J., 140, 183, 243 
Storrs, Emory, 167, 168 
Strong, George P., 152 



Index 



357 



sturgeon, Isaac H., Ill, 119 
Switzler, Col. William F., 130, 131 

Terky, Judge David S., 194, 199, 

200 
Terry, Eear-Admiral Silaa Wright, 

172, 173 
Thayer, Judge Amos M., 152, 182, 

201, 278, 279, 282-284 
Treat, Judge Samuel, 155, 199-201 
Tuttle, Bishop, D. S., 195, 306 

Usher, Judge John P., 196-198 

Van Devanter, Justice Willis, 230, 

235, 251, 253, 278 
Van Horn, Hon. Robert T., 117, 119 
Y&n Valkenburgh, Hon. A. S., 243, 

332 
Vest, Sen. George G., 119, 179, 183, 

223, 224, 243, 298 
Vogdes, Maj. A. S., 118 
Voorhees, Hon. Daniel W., 165 

Waggener, Balie P., 231 



Wagner, Judge David, 298 
Warner, Sen. WilUam, 236, 237, 240, 

241, 243, 249, 250, 288, 291 
Watson, D. T., 280, 281 
Wells, Hon. Erastus, 130, 132 
Whybark, Moses, 232 
Wilson, Bluford, 155 
Wilson, Francis, 107 
Wilson, Gen. James H., 148 
Wilson, John, 105, 107 
Wilson, Hon. O. H. P., 107 
Wilson, Hon. Eobert, 94, 104 
Wilson, Pres. Woodrow, 256, 343 
Withrow, Judge James E., 295, 296, 

326, 329, 332 
Wood, Hon. Fernando, 131 
Wood, Gen. Leonard, 222 
Woodson, Judge A. M., 97, 98, 248 
Worden, Rear-Admiral John Lori- 

mer, 148-150 
Worthington, Rev. John T., 83 
Wright, Rev. Thomas Jefferson, 36, 

37, 39 
Wright, Uriel, 65, 66, 73, 87 



